To Love An Angel
by joXmeg
Summary: After years of companionship, can two people realise that love has been staring them in the face all along? Jo X Meg. Chapter 14: The long awaited rematch! Jo arrives once more in Osaka, but before she can rescue Meg, she must once again take on Takane.
1. Midnight Package

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Burst Angel. If I did, there would be a lot less Kyohei and a lot more Jo and Meg making out. That, and I would be rich...

**Timeline: **Sometime after Jo and Maria have met, but before the end of the series.

* * *

It was raining.

Heavy, oppressive and cold, it pounded down on Tokyo with a ferocity the city had rarely seen. Only the foolhardy or the desperate would be walking the streets in this weather at this time of night. The few people that were on the streets were scrambling into buildings or shelters, seeking refuge from the downpour. One notable exception, however, was the silver haired young woman standing undernieth a street-corner lamp post. She didnt seem perturbed by the rain at all. In fact, she made no effort to shelter herself whatsoever. She merely stood relaxed, eyes occasionally scanning left and right, waiting.

Movement in an alleyway across the street caught her eye, and she fixed her gaze on it. Peering through the gloom and sheets of rain, she could vaguely make out the figure of a man, dressed in a grey trench coat and wide hat, leaning against a wall. A lit cigarette hung loosely in his mouth, the end faintly flaring with each puff he took. Immediately, a thought flashed through her mind:

_The contact._

Striding across the street, the woman moved into the alleyway to confront the stranger, wondering if this was who she was supposed to be waiting for. As she approached, the man looked her up and down, assessing her potential threat, just in case she decided to start trouble. He made a mental note of the nasty looking desert eagles holstered on her hips before asking "Are you the buyer?"

"Depends," answered the woman in a flat, even tone, "you got the merchandise?"

The man bent down and picked up a small briefcase at his feet. Flipping the clasps he opened it, displaying the contents to the woman. Red eyes scanned over a nondescript CD, the only item in the case. It was silver, and appeared to be in good condition. Satisfied, the woman pulled a wad of cash from the pocket of her red bomber jacket and handed it to the man. He accepted the money and, closing the lid, handed over the briefcase. Without another word, both parties turned and headed in opposite directions, the woman leaving behind the inky darkness of the alley, the man moving off into it.

As she rounded a corner, the woman turned her attention to the navy coloured glove on her right hand. Sewn onto the back of the glove was a round, green communicator device. It glowed faintly in the darkness, and she brought it up to her face.

"Sei, do you read me," she asked into the communicator. A few seconds went by before she heard the calm and authorative voice of the woman she was trying to reach.

"Loud and clear, Jo. Do you have it?"

"Yeah, I got it," replied Jo unenthusiastically.

"Good work. Return home immediately. You'll catch a cold out in that weather".

Jo didnt respond and let her hand fall by her side, letting her silence act as an acknowledgement to the other woman that she understood. She continued home in silence, the streets around her bereft of life as she trudged through the rainstorm.

* * *

Jo wandered through the doorway of the camper truck that served as her home sometime around midnight. Shutting the door behind her, she hung up her soaking wet jacket on a nearby coat hanger and put her guns away before heading in the direction of the living room. She was cold, wet, and hungry, and she really wanted to be left in peace.

Unfortunately for Jo, she didnt her solitude for very long.

The minute she walked through the living room door, she attracted the attention of the eleven year old girl who had been sitting at a small table by the window playing with a computer. Immediately the girl jumped to her feet and bounded over to her, pigtails bobbing up and down. Jo groaned inwardly. She didnt feel like dealing with this now.

"Did ya get it Jo? Huh? Did ya?" asked the hyperactive little girl, eyes shining with hope.

"Isnt it past your bedtime?" replied Jo, ignoring the question.

This remark seemed to strike a nerve, as the little girl stuck out her bottom lip and crossed her arms. Dressed as she was in her pink and white top and shorts, she was the absolute picture of cuteness.

"I go to bed whenever I feel like! Im not a little kid!"

Jo rolled her eyes.

"But like I asked, did you get it?"

Sighing, Jo gave the small briefcase she was carrying to the girl, who squealed in delight. She sat down on the floor and opened the briefcase, staring wide-eyed in awe at the small CD inside. Picking it up carefully, she moved back to her computer and inserted the piece of hardware. Almost instantly, the small monitor screen was lit up with colourful images, and the girl squealed again.

"Oh my gosh! Dragon Bomber Brothers 2! Its so cool! Thank you, thank you, thank you Jo! I'll be your friend forever and ever!"

Again Jo rolled her eyes, swearing to herself that this was the absolute last time she was ever going on a midnight video game run for Amy.

"Whats all the commotion?" a familiar voice behind Jo asked. Turning around, Jo was greeted by the sight of a tall, slightly older woman standing in the living room doorway. She wore a gold trimmed navy coat, black pants and a white shirt that was, in Jo's opinion, probably meant for someone with a smaller bust size. The woman turned her attention to Amy.

"What are you doing awake at this hour? You should be in bed."

"Aw, come on Sei," answered Amy, slightly put out by the observation, "I've been waiting for this game forever! I just wanted to try it out!".

"Well you can play with it in the morning. Its late".

"Please can I play just one level?" asked Amy, giving the other woman her best puppy dog eyes.

Sei wasnt falling for it.

"Bedtime. Now".

Grumbling and muttering under her breath, Amy closed up her computer in its little pink plush toy casing and marched off towards her bedroom, throwing Sei a dirty look over her shoulder.

"She's going to be such a little manipulator when she grows up " remarked Sei to herself as she watched Amy go.

"Whatever," replied Jo, not really caring, "why the hell did you send me out on a stupid errand at this time of night? Dont we have anything important to do?"

Sei sighed and leaned against the door frame.

"Unfortunately no. I just thought that you might have needed something to do, you know how its been lately".

Jo knew, all to well, how it had been lately. Tokyo may be a corrupt and crime-ridden city, but nothing worthy of Bailan's attention had apparently occured. As Jo was lamenting her lack of gun-toting action, Sei turned her attention to the floor, noticing the rapidly growing puddle of water forming at Jo's feet.

"Why dont you take a bath. You look like you could use it".

Jo grunted to affirm the idea and wandered towards the bathroom, trailing water behind her.

* * *

After a hot bath and a decent meal of leftovers, Jo felt that it was probably time she went to bed. Yawning, she walked through the small hallway that served to separate the other living quarters from the bedrooms and moved towards the final door at the end. She pushed the door open, allowing the light from the hallway to spill into her room.

Or, more correctly, their room.

Laying undernieth the covers of the queen sized bed located over by the far wall, was the sleeping form of a woman of about fifteen. Her red hair fanned out over her pillow as she lay on her back, the light, rhythmic rising and falling of her chest indicating that she was deep in slumber. As silently as she could, Jo shut the door behind her and moved to the bed, pulling back the covers so that she could get it. She settled down into the warmth of the mattress and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her. Just as she was on the verge of unconsciousness, she was woken by the sound of a soft, sleepy voice.

"Jo?"

"Im here Meg" she replied, turning on her side to face her companion.

Meg had also moved onto her side so that she could face her friend. Her blue eyes were groggy and half closed, and her hair was a little mussed from sleep. She smiled sleepily at Jo.

"When did you get back?"

"Not long ago"

Meg, seemingly satisfied with the answer, gave a small nod and moved closer to Jo. In response to her movement, Jo rolled over onto her back and, like always, allowed her companion to rest her head on her shoulder. Meg loosely clasped her hand onto the front of Jo's nightshirt and, when settled, drifted off to sleep. Jo had long ago stopped questioning this bizarre sleep ritual that Meg performed each night. It was just something that she always did. Jo figured that it was somehow loosely connected to the way small children grasped stuffed animals when they slept, so she didnt let herself be bothered by it. Somewhere along the line, Jo had grown accustomed to this close sleeping proximity, and it always surprised her to find that it also helped her sleep as well. The warmth of Meg's body close to hers was soothing, and her faint strawberry scent always made Jo drowsy. As she slowly began to slip into the realm of dreams, listening to the rain outside and Meg's slow breathing, a final thought flickered through Jo's head.

_Why have I never protested_?

* * *

**A/N: **Well, thats the first chapter done. What did you all think? Im not a hundred percent sure where im going with this, but I have some ideas. Any reviews are welcome (in fact, they'll probably encourage me to get the next chapter up), any flames will make me cry, but I'll still read them.

Until next time!


	2. Movies and Monologues

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **Until the day comes when I buy Studio Gonzo in a hostile take-over, I do not own Burst Angel.

* * *

Jo knelt low behind a wall, listening to the battle rage around her. The smell of fear and excitement was everywhere, adding an electric charge to the chaotic atmosphere that she was trapped in. The silver haired warrior took a deep breath, steadying herself and clearing her head. After a moments rest, she began to move again, keeping in a low crouch to avoid any sniper fire. Just as she was reaching a fork in the path, someone rounded the corner in front of her. She raised her weapon and took aim. The waist length red hair and revealing cowgirl outfit was instantly recognisable to Jo. For a second, surprised blue eyes met unwavering red.

"Jo?"

Without hesitation, Jo fired.

* * *

'That was the most fun ive had in ages! We should play laser tag more often" said Meg as she and Jo left the recreation centre. It had been several days since Jo had picked up Amy's 'important package', and Bailan still had nothing for them to do. With such a lack of excitement, it was inevitable that Meg would soon start to complain about being bored. She had bugged Jo all day yesterday for them to go out and do something and so, in an effort to placate her friend, Jo had decided to spend the day with her.

"So, whatcha wanna do now?" asked Meg as they manouvered their way through the crowded street.

"Dont care. Whatever you wanna do is fine with me"

Meg, unperturbed by Jo's lack of enthusiasm, scanned the street-side stores and complexes, looking for their next source of enjoyment. After passing over several clothing and shoe outlets, her gaze finally settled on the large movie theatre at the end of the street.

"How about a movie?" she asked excitedly.

"Fine," answered Jo, nonchalant, "but I pick the movie". She inwardly grimaced as she recalled the last time she went to the movies and let Meg choose what they would watch. It turned out to be some thin plotted love story that had nearly put her to sleep. She wasnt going to make that mistake again.

Meg smiled happily and, grabbing Jo by the wrist, pulled her in the direction of the theatre.

* * *

As they waited in line to buy their tickets, Meg let her thoughts wander. She didnt want to show it, but Jo's lack of enthusiasm for wanting to do anything with her was beginning to have an effect on her self esteem. She really liked Jo, but the apparant disinterest the other woman showed in her often made her question whether or not the feeling was mutual. Sure, Jo often went places with her, and ever since they had met Jo had acted the same, but as time progressed Meg began to wonder if Jo saw her as less of a friend and more as a charge, someone who she was supposed to look after and baby sit. The thought unsettled Meg. She didnt want to be a burden to her friend. She just wanted to be acknowledged as a friend.

"Two for 'Zombie Aliens from Space'" Jo said to the boy behind the ticket counter.

Meg looked up, surpirsed. So lost was she in her reverie that she had completely failed to realise where they were in the line. Blushing a little because of her lack of concentration, she accepted her ticket and followed Jo into the dimly lit theatre.

* * *

The two found seats in the back row and sat down, waiting patiently for the movie to start. As Jo stared in silence at the advertisements being played on screen, Meg let herself go back to her thoughts. At first she started to wonder if Jo thought about her as a friend again, but then a new topic came to her mind. Why did she care if Jo liked her at all? Why was it so important? She had friends in Sei and Amy, so why did it matter to her so much if Jo didnt like her? Meg didnt know what she would do if she found out that Jo wasnt interested in her friendship. She knew that Jo was important to her, although why she was she didnt know. Her train of thought was broken by a sudden scream, and Meg jumped when she realised that the movie had started. On the screen, a beautiful blonde woman was being chased by a horrifying monster. Reflexively, Meg grabbed Jo's arm. Jo glanced sideways for a moment at the unexpected contact, but soon returned her eyes to the screen. Meg screamed as the woman in the movie was caught and messily devoured by the monster, and she decided that she couldnt watch this anymore. Squealing in terror, Meg buried her face in Jo's shoulder, trying to block out the images that were being played out before her. As a small feeling of comfort from being so close to Jo began to spread throughout her body, Meg wished that the older woman would put her arms around her. She wanted Jo to hold her, to comfort her and tell her that everything was alright. She didnt know why she wanted it, she just knew that she did.

Sadly, she didnt get her wish.

* * *

It was dark outside by the time the movie had finished. The night sky was devoid of any clouds, and a bright, gibbous moon hung low in the sky. As the two women made their way home, both were silent. Jo was never much of a talker, but Meg was too deep in her own thoughts to speak. She was going over the events that had occured within the movie theatre. There she was, scared out of her mind, holding onto Jo for dear life and hoping against hope that the other woman would hold her. Why did she want that? It was confusing. Before she could begin to ponder this question, Meg's train of thought was abruptly interrupted.

"What did you think of the movie?" asked Jo.

"Um...I thought it was ok" came Meg's tentative reply.

Jo looked at her skeptically. "How would you know? You didnt watch most of it".

Meg blushed furiously, ashamed of her cowardice. "Well next time, Im choosing the movie".

Before Jo could retort, a car came screaming around a corner in front of them. The vehicle was driving close to the curb, splashing up water from the gutters. Quick to react, Jo grabbed Meg by the waist and pulled her away from the edge of the street just as the car roared by. Water splashed up the sidewalk, but Jo's quick thinking had saved them both from getting wet.

"Are you ok?" asked Jo, looking down at her friend.

Meg nodded slightly. Right now, she was more concerned about the position she was in than worrying if she was wet. Jo had an arm around her waist, holding onto her. She was pressed tight against the other woman's body, looking up into her friend's hypnotic red eyes. She could smell Jo's dusky, alluring scent, and her silvery hair shone brilliantly in the moonlight. The whole scene seemed ethereal to Meg.

"Then you can let go"

Meg didnt understand at first, but it didnt take long for her to figure out what her friend had meant. Her arms were behind Jo's back, and she was clutching the other woman's jacket rather tightly. Blushing hard, Meg let go and, muttering a thank you, continued on her way home. Jo raised an eyebrow, but thought little of her companion's strange behaviour and began to follow.

* * *

By the time Jo and Meg arrived home it appeared that Kyohei had already been and gone. The living room table was laden with food, and the smell of baking hung faintly in the air.

"Well, well, look who's finally home" smiled Sei, sitting at the table and helping herself to dinner.

"Yeah, how was you date?" smirked Amy, piling her plate with food.

"Shut it, you know very well it wasnt a date," retorted Meg, "we were bored, so we went out. Got a problem with that?"

The little girl rolled her eyes as the two women sat down and began to fill their plates. Clearly, Amy was in a mischevous mood this evening, because as soon as everyone started eating she was annoying Meg again.

"Did you make out?"

Her reply was a bread roll thrown squarely at her head.

"Sei! Meg's thowing food!" Amy whined.

"Well, what kind of a stupid question is that anyway?" snarled the irritated red-head.

"I was only asking" pouted the little girl, folding her arms and sticking out her bottom lip.

"No, we didnt. Now leave me alone." replied Meg, throwing the younger girl a dirty look from across the table.

"Geez, no need to be grouchy about it".

Meg scowled to herself and concentrated on her food. Jo, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around her, continued to eat her meal in silence. Sei cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise kept her thoughts to herself.

* * *

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully enough and, when it was over, Meg decided to take a bath. Filling the tub and removing her garments, she slid into the warm water with a sigh. The silence in the bathroom and the heat of the water helped to relax her, and she soon found her thoughts wandering again. Why was she so defensive at dinner? She knew that Amy was only playing with her, so why had she been so irritated when the little girl had implied that she and Jo were more than just friends?

Did she want to be more than just friends?

No, that was absurd.

Wasnt it? She and Jo had been friends since childhood. They were like sisters. Yeah, that was it. Sisters.

But then how would that explain her strange behaviour earlier that day? She had wanted Jo to be physically close to her. Not only that, but when they actually were close, she had felt...strange. Not in a bad way but, still...

As Meg was struggling with these thoughts, unbeknownst to her, someone else was having their own emotional dilemma.

* * *

Jo stretched out on the roof of the camper truck, laying on her back and looking up at the night sky. She was replaying the events of the day in her mind. The laser tag session, the movies, Meg's wierd behaviour, and something else. Jo knew that she was a solitary person, a lone wolf. She enjoyed her own company, and often got irritated with people, especially if they invaded her personal space. With knowing all these things, why then did she continually allow Meg to violate her solitude? Ever since they had met each other in New York, she had always allowed Meg to talk to her. To shadow her. To touch her. It defied her logic. Anyone else would have been beaten to death for trying to do even half of the things Meg had done, so why was her red haired companion an exception? Jo knew that, deep down, it had to be because she felt something for her. But what? She felt a sense of comradeship and loyalty for Sei and Amy, but even they wouldnt be allowed to get this close to her. It had to be something else.

What it was, for the moment, eluded her.

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, so not an awful lot actually happened in this chapter (or last chapter, for that matter). I was setting up the characters and adding a bit of inner turmoil to their lives, ok?. Dont lynch me! So now Jo and Meg are all confused, and I can work with that later. Anyway, reviews good, flames bad.

Until next time!


	3. Trouble Stirs

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I dont own Burst Angel...but I wants it...its my precious...

* * *

"Wake up! Wake up! We've got a job!"

Jo's eyes flew open as she was suddenly awoken by the sound of gleeful shouting coming from inside her room. She propped herself up on an elbow, trying to find the source of that ungodly racket. She didnt have to look very far as her eyes fell on the young brunette skipping around her bed. Just to make sure that her friend was awake, Amy clambered onto the piece of furniture and proceeded to jump up and down, singing happily to herself.

"Go away, I'm trying to sleep" mumbled Jo, covering her face with her pillow. The darkness it afforded was soothing, but it was short lived as the younger girl yanked it away from her.

"I cant. We've got a job. Sei wants to talk to you about it".

The silver haired woman shot upright, the sudden movement putting Amy off balance and sending her tumbling to the floor. A job? Bailan actually had a job for them? About time! The last few weeks had been killing Jo with boredom and, even though she enjoyed spending time with Meg, she still wished that something exciting would happen. Sure, the laser tag session and the movies the day before had been entertaining, but now she could have some _real_ fun. Jo put her hand out beside her, intending to wake her red headed friend (in case she wasnt already) and tell her about the news, but as she reached out all she felt was an empty bed.

"Amy, where's Meg?"

"Eating breakfast" came the muffled reply from somewhere on the ground.

Ignoring the younger girl's prone form, Jo clambered out of bed and headed out the door in the direction of the kitchen.

"The least she could have done was help me up" grumbled Amy from the floor as she watched her friend leave.

* * *

Sure enough, as Jo entered the main living area of the camper truck, there was Meg, sitting at the dining table and practically drowning herself in a bowl of cerial. She looked up as Jo wandered across to the table and sat herself down opposite, but otherwise didnt acknowledge her friend. She was always like this whenever she was eating. As Jo was just comtemplating what it would be safe to eat without Meg biting her hand off, she heard a small voice beside her.

"Bacon and eggs, Jo?"

She turned, coming face to face with possibly the most weediest, pathetic, sorry excuse for a man she had ever seen. Even while she was sitting down she was almost taller than him, and she could look directly into his brown, cow-like eyes. The darkness of his hair contrasted sharply with his pasty, pale skin, and his physique wouldnt have been out of place on a pre-pubescent girl. He was holding a steaming plate generously heaped with fried bacon and scrambled eggs, and offering it to silver haired gunfighter.

"Thanks Kyohei" Jo mumbled, taking the plate and setting it down in front of her. Kyohei muttered something along the lines of a "dont mention it" and scampered off back to the kitchen. As Jo was busy loading up her plate with as much hot sauce as she possibly could, her friend from across the table spoke up.

"Did you hear? We've got a job!"

Jo nodded and began eating her breakfast, all to aware of that fact after her impromptu wake-up call.

"Yes, and its an interesting job, too" came a voice from behind Jo.

Meg looked up and Jo spun around, both finding Sei standing beside the window and gazing out at the view. She had obviously only just joined them, as she wasnt there when either Meg or Jo had come down to breakfast. The older woman turned her gaze away from the window and fixed it on them before continuing.

"If you two wouldnt mind coming with me to the computer room, I can show you what I mean".

Jo shrugged and stood up, Meg a second behind her, and both women followed their dark haired friend out of the kitchen and down the passageway of the camper truck, eager to find out what exactly was required of them.

* * *

Evidently Amy had managed to pick her small, battered frame up off Jo's bedroom floor, as she was now sitting cross-legged in front of a large computer screen, tapping away at the keys and inserting disks into the hard drive. All three women were now seated on the floor behind her, the glowing information from the computer screen scrolling across their faces in the darkened room. After a few minutes of frantic keyboard work, a map appeared on the screen. Small, yellow dots moved back and forth through what appeared to be streets, often converging in one area before moving on. Amy began to explain.

"This is a map of the industrial district on the outskirts of Osaka. See these moving dots? They represent trucks".

"Whats so suspicious about that," asked Meg, seemingly perplexed, "of course there would be trucks in an industrial district".

Amy nodded. "True, that in itself isnt uncommon. The really interesting piece of information is that they all seem to be heading for the same location at regular intervals".

All three women watched as the little dots all arrived at the same location, waited, and moved off again before repeating the process. Sei spoke up.

"This isnt a random meeting. There's a continuous pattern here".

"Yes", replied Amy "This has been happening for the last few days, and all these trucks seem to arrive at regular three hour intervals".

Jo reached across the young girl's shoulder and pointed at the screen.

"Can you zoom in on that building?"

Amy obliged, tapping a few keys until a small video screen appeared. The building was pretty ordinary, but that wasnt what grabbed Jo's attention.

"There's a lot of security there for an industrial disrict" remarked the silver haired young woman.

She was right. Even though the video screen displayed only a small area, Jo could pick out at least twenty gaurds. Each seemed to be standing watch at random points, occasionally wandering out of sight to check the parameter. Amy whistled appreciatively.

"That's one well defended warehouse".

"What do you think's going on?" asked Meg, eyes glued to the screen.

"I dont know," replied Sei, "but its our job to find out. Bailan thinks it might be a rival syndicate planning to establish itself in Osaka, so he wants you girls to go on a reconnaissance mission and check it out. Also, because this isnt officially "Tokyo business", we'll be working closely with the Osaka police force".

Meg's eyes lit up instantly.

"That means we're gonna go see Takane!"

Jo groaned inwardly. It wasnt that she didnt like the police woman, it was just that she was a bit too gung-ho for her. Any job that involved Takane usually ended in the destruction of half of Osaka. That wasnt exactly a bad thing, it was just that she would most likely get the blame for it.

"When do we start?" asked the gunfighter, nonchalant.

"Bailan wants answers as soon as possible," answered Sei, standing up, "meaning right now".

The three other girls also stood and exited the computer room, heading in the direction of their respective bedrooms. It was going to be a long drive to Osaka, and a short nap would be the best way to pass the time. Sei, being the only woman in the vehicle with a driver's license, unfortunately didnt have that luxury. Sighing, she resigned herself to the long trip and moved off towards the main living area of the truck. She would have to tell Kyohei that he would need to go home.

* * *

Jo couldnt sleep.

She lay in bed, listening to the sounds of passing traffic and concentrating of the slight rock and sway of the truck as it made its way along the highway. Beside her, Meg lay sleeping soundly, her head resting on the gunfighter's shoulder. Jo lay on her back, arms crossed under her head. Her sleep deprivation was being caused by two things. The first was that she was just too excited about her upcoming mission. The promise of violence sent adrenaline pumping through her veins. She loved combat. The smell of gunpowder, the sound of shots being fired. It was so much fun! The second, and equally pressing cause of her wakefulness was lying not more than three inches away from her.

Meg.

She still didnt know what it was she felt for the other girl, and it was starting to get on her nerves. She hated being confused, it was an unproductive waste of energy. Jo knew that these feelings lay somewhere along the lines of friendship, but they were somehow...different. She certainly felt friendship for her red headed companion, but she also felt other things. Jo felt a deep sense of loyalty towards her friend, as well as a certain amount of protectiveness. She understood that friendships were built on these things, but it just felt to her that these feelings ran deeper than that. To what extent? She didnt know.

All these thoughts swirled around inside her head, only serving to further fuel her confused state of mind. Giving a soft sigh of frustration, she got out of bed, careful not to wake her sleeping companion, and headed for the bathroom. Maybe a shower would clear her mind?

* * *

Meg awoke to an empty bed.

Jo's absence was immediately noticable to her. The missing warmth of her crimson eyed friend had stirred her from sleep, making her acutely aware of how cold she was. Pulling the blankets to her chin, she lay still and waited for Jo to come back from wherever she had gone. She reasoned that her friend had only gone to the bathroom, so she shouldnt be long.

She was wrong.

Minutes dragged by, and Jo still did not return. Where could she be? It was doubtful that she was sitting in the cockpit with Sei, as the silver haired woman rarely ventured into that area of the vehicle. Getting a snack was ruled out too, as breakfast hadnt been that long ago. Baffled at this minor mystery, the blue eyed girl got out of bed and left the bedroom, performing a quick sweep of the truck. Amy's room was clear (except, of course, for the little girl who was, in Meg's opinion, snoring rather loudly and drooling copiously in her sleep), as was the computer room and lounge area. However, as Meg proceeded onwards, she became aware of the sound of running water coming from somewhere near the bathroom. This struck the girl as odd. Jo never showered in the mornings, so what was she doing with the water turned on? Watering pot plants? Advancing towards the bathroom, Meg put her head against the wooden door, listening. Yes, she was sure of it. The sound of splashing water could be heard. Curious, Meg put her hand on the doorknob and turned it.

Opening the door.

* * *

The hot water of the shower helped to soothe Jo's thought filled mind. It washed away her troubles, filling her with a sense of ease. The young woman ran her head under the water, completely soaking her hair and giving it a wet, silvery shine. Satisfied that this was about as relaxed as she could be, Jo shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Briefly wiping her face dry with towel, she allowed herself to stand naked on the bathroom floor and let the water drip off her body. The slight prickle of the cold against her skin caused her to smile. It made the gunfighter feel truly alive. A sound behind her snapped Jo out of her reverie. She turned her head to look over her shoulder.

And came face to face with a wide-eyed Meg.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it took me so long to get this up, but ive been very busy lately. Anyway, not a lot happened here (surprise, surpirse), but I swear, stuff will happen in the next chapter. I hope no-one was offended by my portrayal of Kyohei, but he is a weedy little crybaby. And besides, he had to at least make an appearance. As a side note, I always wanted to do a whole "walking in on your wannabe girlfriend naked in the shower" thing, so thats why this chapter ends the way it does. Anyway, I love my reviews, so please keep them coming. They encourage me to keep going. Thanks everyone!

Until next time!


	4. The Seeds Of Doubt

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I dont own Burst Angel. Yeah, yeah, dont rub it in...

* * *

**A/N: **Well, seeing as this is the fourth chapter of this story, I suppose I had better give props to the people who have reviewed so far. After all, its you guys who keep me going.

**EvySilverFox: **Good to know that you love the story. Its that knowledge that keeps me writing.

**chibi fire angel: **I love video game runs! In fact, I did one last week. And yeah, most sane people wouldnt like to face Jo in a game of laser tag. I also agree that Meg was more into Jo than the other way around in the anime, and im trying to convey that here. As for Sei and Amy, I wanted to build up a mother/daughter relationship with them. Glad you like everything so far, now please tell Billy James to stop pointing that gun at my head!

**conan10: **Good to know the start was ok. I hope you're still reading this and that the rest of the story isnt boring.

**MinnieMay119: **You think I captured Jo and Meg perfectly? Squeal! Yay! I dont totally suck at this! I made Amy tease Meg so much because, seeing as they have a sisterly relationship, I just felt that this is what she would do. I like the car scene too. Its cheesy, but it works. Thanks for the compliments!

**ThrottaKaze: **You liked the monologues? Oh good, I thought I was being a bit over the top with them. Yeah, Meg's sleeping habbit is cute. I wanted to portray her that way. And if you liked the shower scene, it gets better here (actually, it plays a small role in helping Meg to discover her true feelings for Jo).

Thanks you guys!

Ok, now on with the story!

* * *

All time in that tiny bathroom seemed to freeze. Both women stood stock still, unable to move. Jo continued to watch her blue eyed intruder, slightly confused as to why the other woman was even standing there in the first place. Meg just stood, hand on the door knob, mouth slightly agape, staring in total shock at the sight in front of her. She had expected her friend to be watering pot plants or something, not standing naked in the bathroom. After what seemed like hours, sense started to return to the girl. To Jo, it was like watching her brain tick over in slow motion. A slight blush appeared across Meg's cheeks, her mouth set itself into a grimace of panic, her eyes glazed with fear. Then, she found her voice. 

"OhmygodJoImsosorryIdidntmeanitIdidntknow!"

And then she was gone, slamming the door shut and leaving Jo to wonder what the hell had just happened.

* * *

Meg, her mind filled with panic, ran blindly back to her room. When she had reached her destination, she slammed the door behind her and leapt onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow. Tears stained her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably.

What had she done?

Sure, over the many years of their friendship, Meg had seen Jo naked hundreds of times. It wasnt anything new to her, but this time, it just seemed...wrong. But why? She closed her eyes, trying to block the last few minutes from her mind.

But it only made it worse.

She could see Jo standing there, completely devoid of her clothing. She could see the silvery sheen of her damp hair, her beautifully hypnotic crimson eyes, the water droplets moving down her wet, toned body...

She cried harder.

This wasnt how friends thought about friends. It was wrong of her to picture Jo that way. She continued to sob, but stopped when she heard the bedroom door open. Meg listened intently, forcing her ragged breathing to slow to a normal pace. She heard someone moving across the room, then felt the bed shift as someone lay down.

She feigned sleep.

Jo shifted her weight a little to try and get comfortable, then stopped moving. After a few minutes, Meg heard her friend's breathing fall into a slow, rythmic pattern, indicating to her that she was sleeping.

The red head looked up.

There was Jo, lying on her back, arms crossed under her head, fast asleep. Meg wondered at this. Had she over-reacted? Jo obviously didnt think that the events moments before had mattered, or else she would have said something. Maybe she didnt care?

Meg lay her head back down on the pillow, facing away from her friend. Regardless of whether Jo cared or not, she still felt bad. She shouldnt have barged into the bathroom like that. And she certainly shouldnt have been staring at Jo for so long. She let these thoughts play through her mind as she closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep. Deep down, she knew why she felt bad. She knew why she had stared dumbfounded at her naked companion. She knew what this feeling was that coiled in her stomach and made her think inappropriate thoughts about Jo. She knew what it was called.

Desire.

* * *

The drive to Osaka took longer than anticipated, due to heavy traffic on the freeway, so it was late afternoon by the time the camper truck pulled into an abandoned parking lot somewhere in the city. Meg sat at the dining table, staring lazily out the window, while Jo reclined on the living room couch. Neither spoke to the other. Silence reigned in the living room until it was broken by Sei as she entered from the cockpit, talking on her mobile phone.

"Yes, I understand...Alright then, I'll send them soon...ok, bye".

"Who was that?" asked Jo, turning her head to look at the older woman.

"Takane," answered Sei, closing her phone, "she says that we cant proceed in our mission until later tonight. The police are trying to get as much information on the security of the target warehouse as possible so that we can be best equipped to successfully complete what we have to do. Until then, Takane says that you can meet her down town to kill time".

Jo rolled her eyes. What a waste of time. She had been looking forward to finally getting some action, and now she had to be waylaid by a meeting with an over-enthusiastic cop. Sighing, she rose to her feet and headed out the door, Meg not far behind her.

* * *

Neither girl spoke to the other as they walked through the bustling streets of the city. Jo couldnt put her finger on it, but the silence felt...awkward. She had glanced across as her companion a few times during the walk, but whenever she did Meg would look away. She was just about to ask her companion if anything was the matter when she heard a loud shouting coming from just up ahead in the crowd.

"Hey! Tokyo! Meg!"

Jo looked up and saw a woman pushing her way through the mass of people. She had brown, slightly messy hair and wore a white, calf length jacket. A sword was slung between her shoulder blades, and she wore a stupid grin as she approached the two women. Meg seemed to perk up upon finding their friend, smiling as the police woman approached.

"How ya both doin?" asked Takane happily.

Meg answered cheerfully that they were both fine, while Jo remained silent.

"So, y'all ready for tonight," asked the police woman, "I reckon its gonna be fun!"

"Should we be talking about this out in the middle of the street?" asked Jo, glancing pointedly at the crowds.

"You're right, we should talk in private" replied Takane. She began scanning the stores that lined the streets and, finding a small cafe across the street, led them inside. The interior of the cafe was dimly lit, with very few customers anywhere to be seen. Finding a small table, the company sat down and, when a waitress had brought them coffee, Takane continued where she had left off.

"I hear its gonna be tough to get in. There's supposed to be a hell of a lot of security around".

"There is," replied Meg, adding sugar to her beverage, "armed guards are swarming all over the place".

Takane nodded and sipped her coffee. "I heard that there might be some cybots walking around too. Whatever's going on, its gonna be tough to find out".

Jo swore silently to herself. Hired goons were one thing, but cybots were something else. Without Jango, it was going to be tough to deal with them if they got caught. On top of that, most cybot units had thermal imaging scanners, meaning that they would be harder to hide from. Takane continued.

"From what our sources can tell us, the bodyguard around the warehouse changes once every four hours. That'll probably be the best way to sneak in".

Jo nodded in agreement. "So, when do we do this?"

"We'll have to be in position around ten thirty," replied the police woman, "that'll give us time to get ready for the guard change".

Jo nodded again. "Ok, I'll contact Sei and tell her what's happening".

The silver haired woman stood up and walked away from the table, standing in a quiet corner of the cafe so that she could speak into her communicator without getting any background interference. When she had gone, Takane looked over at Meg.

"So, how's it all going between you two?"

"What do you mean?" asked Meg, slightly taken aback by this sudden question.

"You know," prompted Takane, raising her eyebrows suggestively, "between you and Tokyo".

Meg blushed slightly. "I...dont know what you're talking about".

"Oh come on," continued the police woman, "you know what I mean. Have you asked her out yet?"

Meg's face went a deeper shade of crimson. "Why...why would I...do that?"

Takane rolled her eyes. "Please, who do ya think you're talking to? Last time I saw you two together, you were always looking at Tokyo with those puppy-dog eyes, you always had your arm linked in hers. I know what's going on. You like her".

"N-no I dont," stammered Meg, "w-were just...really good friends".

Takane wriggled her eyebrows. "Yeah, _really_ good friends".

Meg blushed harder and looked down at the floor. Before Takane could continue her line of questioning, Jo wandered back to the table and sat down.

"Sei's given us the all clear".

Takane nodded and continued to drink her coffee. The women continued to chat about the upcoming mission for the next few hours, discussing possible tactics, escape routes and guard patterns until they were told by a waitress that it was closing time. Leaving a tip, the three women exited the cafe and stood outside on the sidewalk. The sun was setting behind the skyscrapers in the west, casting an orange haze across the city. The crowds on the street were thinning as people started to make their way home, and the stores around them began to close up for the night.

"Well, I reckon I better get back to the station," said Takane, glancing over at the two girls beside her, "I gotta get ready for tonight. I'll meet you two outside warehouse eight at ten thirty. You know where that is?".

"Yeah," replied Jo, "we've got a map".

Takane said her farewells and headed off down the street. Meg waved after her, Jo just stood watching her leave, her hands buried in the pockets of her bomber jacket. When the police woman dissappeared from sight, both girls turned and headed off in the opposite direction, back towards the truck.

* * *

As the two girls made their way home through the streets of Osaka, Meg couldnt help but replay in her head what Takane had said to her.

Did she like Jo?

No, not as anything more than a friend, anyway.

Right?

If that was true, why did Takane's questions make her so uncomfortable? Why did she get so upset over the whole shower incident? And why, oh why, couldnt she get the image of Jo's wet, naked body out of her head?

Meg tried to push these thoughts from her mind. No, she couldnt deal with them now. In a few hours, she would be risking her life to find out what was going on in Osaka's industrial district. She would need to obtain information and photographs for Bailan. She would have to sneak, she would have to fight, she would have to run.

She would have to do it all with Jo...

...and her hot, wet, naked body...

No! She couldnt think like that! Jo was her _friend_. You didnt think like that about _friends_. What would Jo think about her if she ever found out about these thoughts?

She continued to walk beside her friend in silence, too embarrassed about what was going on in her head to even look at Jo. As they rounded a corner and the camper truck came into view, Meg made a promise to herself.

Whatever she felt for Jo, she wouldnt let it affect their friendship.

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, I lied. Not a whole lot happened here either. Please dont kill me! I promise, next chapter. Thats where the action is. Thanks to all of you who gave reviews. They really inspired me to keep going, even when I felt like giving up. I hope everyone felt that Takane was in character in this chapter. I tried to portray her as she appears in the anime. Oh, and just to clarify things, Meg got upset over the whole shower thing because she's starting to realise that she isnt thinking about Jo in a platonic way anymore. Thanks to everyone who read this.

Until next time!


	5. Infiltrators

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Burst Angel. And neither do you. So nya.

* * *

A gibbous moon hung low in the sky.

A slight breeze blew through Osaka's industrial district, picking up loose papers and sending them skittering across the ground. Jo pulled her jacket closed against the cold wind, feeling the breeze ruffle through her silvery hair. Meg and Takane remained silent beside her, trying steadfastly to ignore the chill. All three women crouched behind a stack of rusted steel drums, watching the activity occurring not too far from where they hid. A convoy of trucks was passing their position, heading into a large, rundown warehouse. Armed guards swarmed the area, stopping each vehicle and searching them before waving their drivers on. Takane swore quietly.

"Dang, well there goes my plan of sneaking in on one of them trucks".

Jo didnt respond. She was thinking. After sneaking into the parameter of the industrial district and bypassing several groups of armed guards, the difficulty of this mission was starting to become apparent. Jo began to dissect the situation. There were far too many guards to simply shoot their way in, so that plan had to be ruled out. They didnt know the extent of the security measures being taken either, so simply killing a gaurd and assuming their identity was useless too. The silver haired mercenary continued to silently ponder and discard several plans of action, but was interrupted when a distant noise grabbed her attention.

"Well, we should probably get moving", remarked Takane, "we're not gonna find much out just hanging around here".

The brown haired police woman began to move, but Jo grabbed her by the forearm and yanked her to the ground.

"Ow! What was that for?" whispered Takane fiercely.

"Shut up," growled Jo, clamping a hand over the protesting woman's mouth, "listen".

Takane stopped struggling against the gunfighter's grip and lay still. Immediately, she understood. Listening past the sounds of moving vehicles and shouting guards, she could hear a heavy, rythmic thudding noise moving in their direction. All three women waited, listening to the noise grow louder. Whatever was causing it was heading their way. Knowing what was coming, Jo swore and threw herself to the ground, dragging a visibly frightened Meg with her.

Rounding a corner and following behind the column of trucks, a blue and white cybot tramped into view. Its heavy, piston driven legs churned the earth as it marched relentlessly forward, the pilot cockpit swinging left and right with each step of the mighty machine. Two menacing autocannons jutted out from the cybot's underside, moving independantly as they scanned the surrounding area. Four large, red letters were painted onto the side of the cockpit, and it was this that Jo took the most interest in. The three women lay still as the hulking maching moved past their hiding place, seemingly unaware that they were there. When the cybot had moved out of sight around the side of a building, Jo allowed her companions to move again.

"What the hell is RAPT doing here," asked Takane, livid with rage, "this is suppossed to be _our_ operation!"

"I dont think those scum are on our side," replied Jo, still watching the empty space where the cybot had disappeared from view, "I think they're involved with this".

If this was true, then the mission had just hit a whole new level. It was one thing for some two bit gang to be setting up headquarters in a rundown warehouse district on the outskirts of a city, but if the government was involved, then this ran deeper than first anticipated.

"Should we tell Sei?" asked Meg, still a little shaken.

"Not yet," answered Jo, glancing across at her friend, "we should find out more before we report back".

"So what do we do now?" asked Takane.

"Stick to the shadows and come with me," replied Jo, moving from the ground into a stooping crouch, "we have to find out what those trucks are carrying".

The other two women nodded and followed their friend, moving as stealthily as they possibly could in the general direction of the convoy.

* * *

After a few minutes of slinking past patrolling guards and using piles of scrap as cover, the group stopped short just outside a large, derelict warehouse. The last of the convoy was pulling into the building, plumes of smoke vomiting from the truck's exhaust at it vanished from sight. Two guards flanked the warehouse entrance, automatic rifles held lazily in their arms.

"How are we supposed to get past them?" asked Takane, keeping her voice low to avoid being heard.

Jo didnt answer and looked around, hoping to find a solution. After a quick scan, the gunfighter spied what she was looking for. Over by the side of the building, a rusted ladder lay disregarded on the ground.

"We could climb onto the roof", stated Jo, talking more to herself than to anyone else, "but we would still have to sneak past the guards".

"Leave that to me" grinned Takane, winking at her silver haired friend.

The police woman picked up a piece of scrap iron that had been lying on the ground and threw it as hard as she could off into the darkness. The metallic clattering noise the offending piece of junk created forced the guards to look off in the direction of the sound. One produced a flashlight, shining it into the distance. As both guards gazed out into the night, the group of women took advantage of their lack of concentration and scampered across the open ground towards the side of the building. Pressing herself up against the steel walls of the warehouse, Jo listened for the sounds of pursuit.

None came.

Satisfied that everything was fine, Jo hefted the ladder and, as quietly as she could, positioned it against the side of the building. Holding it steady, Jo allowed Meg and Takane to climb the ladder first before she too ascended the rusted piece of equipment and joined them on the corrugated roof. The trio moved slowly across the roof of the building, careful not to make any noise. As the group moved on, they eventually came to an open skylight looking down onto the warehouse floor below.

"You didnt happen to bring any rope, did you?" Meg asked Takane, hoping for an affirmative answer.

The police woman shook her head no.

"Dont need it" said Jo, pointing through the skylight, "look".

Directly beneath when they stood, Jo indicated a stack of crates reaching almost to roof of the warehouse. There was a good six foot fall between the top crate and the skylight, but that was acceptable. The problem was, would they be seen? Workers and guards could be seen moving about below them, so it was a high possibility.

"This is the only way in," said Jo, glancing at her friends, "do you think you can do it?"

Takane gave a thumbs up, while Meg nodded. Taking a deep breath, Jo leapt through the opening in the roof and landed soundlessly on the top crate. Without stopping, the nimble fighter hopped from stack to stack, eventually making it to the floor. Crouching behind the crates, she listened for any sounds of alarm. After a few seconds without anything happening, she realised that she had been undetected. Jo looked up and, seeing her friends peering down at her through the skylight, waved to them frantically to indicate that they should follow. Takane came first, mimicking what Jo had done earlier and landing safely on the ground. Meg followed, doing her best to stay quiet and concentrating on where she had to jump.

And then disaster struck.

Meg jumped from a crate halfway up the stack towards the closest one below her. As she jumped, her foot slipped, changing her controlled descent into a headlong plummet towards the cold concrete of the warehouse floor. Meg was too scared to even scream, instead shutting her eyes tight and waiting for her fall to come to a painful and fatal end. Jo watched her companion falling and, with quick reflexes, stepped out into her path.

The red head landed safely in Jo's arms.

Meg opened her eyes and looked up, slightly shocked that she was alright. Her gaze locked with the crimson eyes of her saviour, and she felt a slight blush colour her cheeks.

"S-sorry" stammered the girl, slightly embarrassed at her mistake and the close proximity she was sharing with her friend.

Jo said nothing and put the red head down. Listening, the gunfighter could tell that they were still, luckily, unnoticed. No shouts of alarm could be heard from anywhere and, as far as she could tell, work was progressing as normal. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Jo crouched low behind a crate and peered out at the scene in front of her. The warehouse was a vertiable hive of activity. Guards patrolled the building floor, keeping an eye on everything that was going on. Machinery hummed and whined as operators worked cranes and forklifts. Men in overalls unloaded cages covered in fabric and blankets from the back of parked trucks, stacking them randomly wherever there was room. As Jo watched two men unload another cage, she saw one stumble and accidentaly drop his end of the load. The blanket covering it fell to the floor.

Behind her, Meg gasped.

Inside the cage, Jo could make out the sleeping form of a large, black panther. Judging by the fact that it didnt stir, the gunfighter deduced that the animal had been tranquilized.

"You might wanna take a photo of that" Jo told Meg quietly.

Meg, astonished by the sight of the big cat, reached into a pocket of her yellow cowboy pants and produced a palm sized digital camera. Raising the piece of equipment to eye level, the girl focused the image and took a few shots.

Ignoring the blanket, the two men set the cage down and proceeded with their work. The trio continued to watch them until they had finished unloading the truck and wandered away to do something else. When the coast was clear, the group moved quickly through the maze of crates and assorted machinery until they had reached the spot where the truck had been unloaded. From here, they could see many blanket covered cages stacked against the walls of the warehouse.

"This is what was in those trucks," asked Takane, skeptically, "what are they gonna do? Start a zoo?"

Jo ignored the question and made her way over to the closest cage. Lifting up the blanket, she peered in and saw a large, sleeping wolf lying inside. The beast's huge jaws lay agape in slumber, giving the gunfighter a good glimpse of its long, knife like canines. So, someone was stockpiling animals. But why? She let the blanket fall back into place and glanced back at her friends. Takane had the same idea as Jo, looking into the cages to see what was inside. Meg was taking photos, snapping pictures of everything and anything that she thought was important. The three women continued their investigation for some time, eventually gathering a large hoarde of photographs and a general inventory of the animals kept inside the cages.

"Well, I think that should do it," said Jo, glancing around for any guards, "lets go".

The group began to make their way quietly through the warehouse, but were stopped dead in their tracks by the sound of an angry roar followed by a pain filled scream coming from somewhere in the back of the building.

"What was that?" asked Takane, whirling around towards the source of the noise.

"Dont know," answered Jo, pulling one of her Desert Eagles from its holster, "but lets find out".

* * *

**A/N: **There. Something happened. Now you cant kill me. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even if I did leave it on a bit of a cliffhanger. But dont worry, the next chapter should be up soon. Once again, thanks to all those who reviewed. Trust me, I appreciate you taking the time to tell me what you think. See you all next chapter!

Until next time!


	6. Danger, Love and Old Foes

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I dont own Burst Angel. But I will someday. Someday...

* * *

Flitting from crate stack to crate stack, the small team of women deftly made their way towards the back of the warehouse, moving in the direction that the odd sound had come from. It didnt take long to find the supposed source of the noise, as Jo pulled up short behind a parked forklift and levelled her gun at a far wall, drawing it to the attention of her two friends.

"I bet whatever that was came from in there" she stated, eyes narrowing.

Concealed almost from sight behind yet more cages and crates, all three women could see a curtained doorway leading off into an unexplored room. The team crept closer to this strange area of the building, keeping as quiet as they possibly could. Reaching the wall, Jo pushed herself up against it and took stock of the situation. From where they were, she was sure that the scattered crates would conceal them from prying eyes. They had not been spotted yet, and no sign that had alarm had been raised indicated that, for now, they were still safe. Getting down on all fours, Jo motioned for Meg and Takane to do the same. They obeyed, and all three women crawled towards the doorway and peered under the curtain.

The interior of the mysterious room was a stark contrast to the rest of the building. While the warehouse was dirty, bustling and littered with various materials, this room was clean, orderly and contained only a few people. Several computers sat on white desks, graphs and statistics on unknown relevance displayed on their monitors. A glass tank, filled with a poisonous looking green liquid, could be seen dominating the back wall, and what appeared to be an operating table stood in the middle of the room.

But all this was not what made Meg and Takane gasp.

Sprawled on the floor, the body of a man could be seen lying in an ever increasing pool of blood. The man's head, mauled almost beyond recognition, lay a few feet away from the rest of his carcass. What had caused this unfortunate soul's death was clearly evident to Jo when she turned her eyes to the operating table.

Restrained with chains and leather straps, what appeared to be a tiger was strapped down and struggling against the bonds that held it to the table. However, this was not like any tiger that Jo had ever seen. Instead of fur, the body of the creature consisted of orange and black striped scales. The front paws looked like should belong on the body of a reptile more than a mammal, and the animal had somehow sprouted spines along the length of its tail. This was all very interesting, but it was the creature's head that Jo took the most interest in. The eyes of the beast glowed an unearthly green colour, and the back of the skull had been cut away and replaced with clear glass. As the hybrid animal thrashed on the table, Jo swore silently as she caught a glimpse of what was inside the creature's head.

A glowing brain.

As Jo began to contemplate exactly how serious the situation had now become, her attention was drawn to the two living people within the room, a man and a woman. Both wore pristine white lab coats and held clipboards in their hands, indicating that they were probably scientists of some sort.

"I warned him not to get too close" remarked the woman, glancing uncaringly at the body on the floor.

"Well, now he knows that he should have listened" replied the man, scribbling notes on his clipboard.

"At least we know that the experiment was a success" the woman stated, turning her attention to the animal still struggling on the operation table.

"Yes," replied the man, "honestly, I didnt think that the gene splice would initially work, what with the hybrid being created from two completely different species and all. But I must say that the glowing brains that were supplied for our research really helped to make the differing DNA more compatible".

The woman nodded. "Indeed. It wont be long now until we're ready to begin testing on actual humans".

Meg whimpered slightly and pointed a shaking finger at the creation on the table. "You mean they're gonna do that...to people?"

Jo nodded her head in affirmation. This whole situation made no sense to her. What was the benefit of creating hybrid animals? Was this what the glowing brains were supposed to be used for? And if so, why was this entire operation so secretive and supposedly illegal? The gunslinger ran many questions through her mind, but was soon brought back to reality by Takane. The police woman was shifting uncomfortably on the ground, twitching her arms and holding nose. Jo glared at her, indicating for the other woman to cease her actions.

"I cant help it, " whispered Takane, "this place is so dusty, its making my nose itch".

"Ignore it" answered Jo, keeping as quiet as she possibly could while still maintaining a threatening note in her voice.

"I cant, its..." began Takane, but before she could finish her sentance, she froze. Jo, realising what was about to happen, lunged her hand towards the other girl's mouth.

But it was too late.

At the sound of the sneeze, both scientists whirled in the direction of the noise. It didnt take them long to spot the three women peering at them from under the curtain. Instantly, the man ran to the wall and slammed his fist into a big, red button.

The deafining sound of alarm sirens filled the air.

"Shit" swore Jo as she scrambled from the floor, dragging her companions with her. From where she stood, Jo could see men with weapons streaming through the building and heading in their direction. The sound of gunfire could be heard, and several bullets thudded into a crate not far from where they were.

"Run!" ordered Jo, pushing her friends to get them moving. The gunfighter drew her other Desert Eagle and chased after her companions, occasionally picking off targets as they presented themselves. The group wound their way through the maze of crates, machinery and other items that littered the warehouse, seeking an exit. They were involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse, and they had to escape before they were caught.

"The door," Jo shouted to her friends, "head for the door".

The group ran head long through the building, dodging bullets and scampering from area of cover to area of cover. Jo spotted the doorway not too far off to her left, and guided the team towards it. There was no-one in this part of the building, and it appeared that they were in the clear. Freedom was but a few meters away!

But the idea of safety was quickly thrown out the window, as the large RAPT cybot crashed through the front of the building. The machine's mechanical arms rent the open doorway asunder in order to make room for the large bulk of it's body. The autocannon on its underside swung in their direction, drawing a bead on the team's position. Jo, reacting quickly, grabbed Meg by the hand and threw her behind a parked truck. The silver haired woman leaped after her friend, just as the mighty weapon of the cybot whirred into life.

"Takane, get down!" Jo yelled to the police woman. Takane sprinted towards the two women in an attempt to reach safety.

But she wasnt fast enough.

A spray of bullets from the cybot's autocannon sent Takane flying, splattering crates with a shade of crimson. She rolled and bounced limply across the ground before impacting with an empty cage, causing the inertia within the woman's body to cease immediately.

Takane lay motionless in a pool of blood.

"TAKANE!" screamed Meg, tears streaming down her face as she witnessed the death of her friend.

"There's nothing more we can do for her," stated Jo, rather coldly, "we have to get out of here".

The cybot, having dealt accordingly with one of the intruders, lumbered further into the warehouse to exact the same vengeance upon the other two. Toppling stacks of crates and crushing smaller machinery underfoot, the collosal machine made it's own path towards Jo and Meg's hiding place. Jo, realising that help was needed, pushed a button on the back of her communicator glove and shouted into the device.

"Sei, you there?"

"I read you, Jo" came the voice of the older woman.

"We need you down here now! All hell's broken loose!"

"We're on it," replied Sei, "just hang tight until we get there".

The gunfighter didnt respond, letting the silence tell her older friend that she understood. Jo knew that whatever she was going to do next, she had to do it fast. The oncoming cybot was approaching rapidly, and no doubt scores of armed guards would be quickly drawn to the commotion coming from their area of the warehouse. Even now men with weapons were entering the building through the destroyed entrance and fanning out through the mess the cybot had left in its wake.

"Come on" Jo barked, grabbing a frightened Meg by the hand and running out from behind the truck.

The pair wound their way past scattered crates and rubble, sprinting straight towards the cybot. Throughout the building, men that had sighted the team yelled frantically into communication devices, relaying the information to the other guards still searching within the warehouse. Small arms fire whizzed past the two women's heads, but Jo took no notice of it. The cybot's pilot, startled by the sudden rush that the two women had made, reacted slowly and whirled his machine on the spot in an attempt to track the pair's flight. Jo zig-zagged between fallen crates and pieces of masonry, dragging Meg with her. The gunfighter was searching desperately for a clear exit, but the cybot was strategetically positioned between them and the doorway. Gritting her teeth, Jo knew what she had to do. Tightening her grip on Meg's hand, Jo broke cover, running as fast as she could towards the deadly machine.

"What are you doing," asked Meg hysterically, "you're gonna get us killed!".

Jo ignored her companion and ran on. To the silver haired woman, the dangerous scene that they were in seemed to play out in painful slow motion. The pair rushed forward, adrenaline fuelling their bodies as they ran head long towards the monstrous construct. The cybot's weapon arched mechanically towards them, trying to draw a bead on their position. The barrel of the autocannon began to turn, preparing to unload a salvo of hot, lead death upon the two women. Jo and Meg drew closer to the machine. They were fifteen feet from the cybot. Ten feet. Five feet. The autocannon fired.

But the bullets hit nothing but concrete.

The team pelted head long through the cybot's legs and onward to glorious freedom. The machine pivoted on the spot, but it was too late to catch the two women as they rushed through the entrance of the warehouse and out into the night.

"Damn it, where are they?" Jo remarked, searching for Sei. In answer to her question, a familiar camper truck came screaming around a corner and skidded to a halt in front of the them. A hatch on the side of the vehicle opened, and a small stairway lowered itself to ground. Without hesitation, Jo pulled Meg up the stairs and slammed the door shut, just as gunfire peppered the armored hull of the truck. Sei shifted the vehicle into gear, and the group sped off towards safety.

* * *

When they had cleared the warehouse district, Jo made her way through the truck and into the cockpit. Sitting down in the passenger's seat, the silver haired woman remained silent, waiting for her older companion to begin asking questions.

"Where's Takane?" asked Sei, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Dead" replied Jo flatly, staring resolutely forward.

Sei nodded her head slowly. "Thats a shame. She was a good friend and ally".

Jo continued the conversation. "We got a lot of pictures and information on what was going on in that warehouse. Turns out they were stockpiling animals".

Sei glanced sideways at her friend. "Animals? What were they doing with animals?"

"As far as I could tell," replied Jo, "they were using them for some sort of genetic experiment. We found a wierd hybrid animal while we were there. It looked like a strange cross between a big cat and a lizard".

"How very interesting", remarked Sei, "You dont know why they were doing it, do you?"

Jo shook her head no. "We never got that far. Our cover was blown before we could find out anything else. The only thing of importance besides that is that RAPT appears to be involved".

"RAPT," asked Sei, perplexed, "In Osaka? What are they doing all the way out here?"

"Dont know," answered Jo, "but they werent on our side. One of their cybot's came after us. Meg and I barely got out alive".

Sei nodded her head. "Good work. We got what we came for, but I dont know what Bailan will make of all this".

Jo stood up from her seat and began to move from the cockpit. "If we're done here, Im going to bed".

"Goodnight" Sei muttered casually. She glanced across at Jo again as her friend shifted past the older woman and away towards her room. When the gunfighter had vanished from sight, the dark haired woman returned her gaze to the road, watching as the lights of Osaka grew brighter in the distance.

* * *

The first thing Jo noticed when she opened the bedroom door was that the light was turned off inside. From the light spilling into the room, the crimson eyed woman could see Meg lying face down on the bed. The red head's body was shaking slightly, and Jo was sure she could hear a few muffled sobs emanating from her friend. Unsure about the situation, Jo shut the door behind her and crossed the room through the darkness towards Meg. Sitting on the side of the bed, Jo put her hand on the shoulder of her companion.

"Why are you crying?" she asked bluntly.

Meg didnt respond.

"I said, why are you crying?" the gunfighter asked again.

"Because" came the muffled reply from Meg.

"Because what?" asked Jo, not really understanding her friend's answer.

Meg shifted her face from the pillow and glanced down at the ground. "Because...I was...scared".

"Scared," asked Jo, now even more confused, "what were you scared of?"

Meg moved into a sitting position and turned to her friend. Outside, the full moon shone through the small room's window. The light splashed across the bed in a silvery sheen, illuminating the bedroom with a beautiful, soft glow.

"I was scared of everything," started Meg, her eyes shining with tears, "I was scared when we were discovered. I was scared when the alarms started ringing. I was scared... when Takane.. died. I was scared when..."

The red haired girl couldnt go on. Fear and sadness had started to creep into her voice, and fresh tears began falling down her cheeks. Sobbing silently, Meg leaned forward and buried her face in Jo's shoulder. The gunfighter, completely put off by this sudden display of vulnerability, could do little more than put her arms around the shaking frame of her friend.

"But what scared me the most," continued Meg, trying to bring herself back under control, "was that thought that...I might...lose you".

"You'll never lose me," reassured Jo, stroking her friend's hair in an effort to calm her down, "I'll always be here. I'll always fight for you".

Meg pulled her arms around Jo and hugged the silver haired woman tightly. Jo pulled the red head into her lap and gently rocked herself back and forth, soothing Meg as best she could.

"Promise you'll never leave me" pleaded Meg, lifting her head from Jo's shoulder and staring into the gunfighter's crimson eyes.

"I promise" replied Jo softly.

Meg inched forward slowly and, before she knew what was happening, her lips met Jo's. The kiss was light and innocent, only lasting a few seconds. The sweetness of the silver haired woman's mouth was heaven to Meg. Deep down, she knew that this was what she had always wanted, and it was then that she understood what she felt.

She loved Jo.

Truly, madly and deeply.

Meg lay her head back on Jo's shoulder, and allowed the rocking motion her friend was making to slowly put her to sleep. As the red head began to drift off into the realm of dreams, she heard the gunfighter whisper softly.

"I promise".

* * *

Takane's vision swam as her eyes struggled to maintain their function. She could hardly feel the pain anymore, and she was surprised to find that she now didnt mind the pool of warm, sticky blood that was surrounding her body. It was doing a nice job of making her drowsy. Suddenly, the sound of voices off to her left caught the police woman's attention. She couldnt move her head, so all Takane could do was try to make out what was being said.

"Hey, she's still alive" said a voice.

"She wont be for long," said another, "she's lost a lot of blood".

"What are we gonna do with her?" asked the first voice.

"Terminate her" came the flat reply of the second.

"No," responded a new voice, soft, malicious and authoritative, "she might prove useful".

Takane watched as a figure strolled to within her line of sight. The new person approached the police woman and knelt down to look at her, completely ignoring the spreading pool of blood. This figure was a woman, but it was like none that Takane had ever seen before. Her perfect, porcelain face possessed the most cruel, malevolent set of violet eyes that the brown haired woman had ever seen. Her hair was snow white, and styled in such a way that the hair at the back of the head resembled outstretched bat wings. A ponytail with what appeared to be a blade attached to the end hung past her right shoulder, and she wore little more than what could only be described as a very revealing one piece body suit. The woman looked past Takane at a point she couldnt see and spoke.

"Take her to the lab and have her fixed up. I want to keep her alive".

"Yes Field Commander Maria" came the dual reply of the two voices off to Takane's left.

Maria looked back to Takane and stroked the police woman's face.

"Yes," she remarked, lips stretching into a cruel smile, "you might prove very useful indeed".

* * *

**A/N: **Dun dun dun! Well, this turned out to be an interesting little chapter. Violence. Romance. Mystery. It had it all. What will happen next? How will Jo and Meg's relationship develop from here? What's going to happen to Takane? Where does Maria fit into all this? Right now, I dont really know. But hopefully, the answers to all these questions and more will become evident in the next installment of 'To Love An Angel'. Again, thanks must go to those who reviewed this story. I must say though, it is a bit disheartening to have written six chapters and not even have ten reviews yet, but I shall endure. Anyways, all those who have reviewed, please keep reviewing. And those people who havent, please do so! I implore you!

Until next time!


	7. Schemes and Ferris Wheels

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I dont own Burst Angel. But if I did, I would translate the manga and put a lot more girl x girl face sucking in the anime.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, because of all the new reviews that I got, here is the next chapter updated at double-quick speed! Props go to these people especially:

**Setsuna Sakurazaki:** Thanks for the cookie. It helped me to keep awake and finish this chapter!

**umami:** Thank you for your support. I really do try to maintain a good level of writing. I hate reading stories where the spelling and grammer are poor. I hope you read this!

**angel prototype:** Im trying to get these up as fast as possible, but thanks for the whipping. It helped me to finish this faster. Thanks for the review.

**CrimsonWhisper:** Yeah, I wanted to keep her alive. She plays a bigger part later. I hope this chapter continues to give you warm and fuzzies!

Anyway, lets get on with what we're all here for. To the story!

* * *

As morning sunlight filtered in through the bedroom window, Jo found herself contemplating the events of the previous night.

Why had Meg kissed her?

Better still, what did she _let_ Meg kiss her?

At the time, the entire situation had seemed confusing to the gunslinger. Sure, she had seen Meg cry a hundred times. This time, however, it was different. The other girl had just seemed so vulnerable, shaking and convulsing in sadness and fear. Why had she been afraid? Jo put herself in peril almost on a daily basis, and she had always come out on top. It would take more than a pathetic RAPT cybot and a couple of armed men to take her down, so why worry?

But this wasnt answering her question.

In fear for her friend's mortality, the red head had crossed the line of friendship between the two and plunged them into something that Jo couldnt understand. What little Jo knew of human relationships, she understood that friends just didnt kiss friends. A bond had been shared between the silver haired woman and the cowgirl last night, even if it only was for a brief instant. Did the kiss happen because Meg was in shock from Takane's death? Was it because she needed somebody for emotional support?

No, that wasnt the reason.

Jo knew that she had let the other girl embrace her because it just felt _right_. Like it was something that should have naturally happened. This answer confused the gunfighter further still. She wasnt used to displaying her feelings. She just didnt know how, so why did she do so last night? Turning her head, Jo watched the object of her thoughts slumber peacefully. The red haired girl lay with her head resting on the older woman's shoulder, her hand loosely clasping the front of the crimson eyed warrior's nightshirt. Jo smiled to herself.

In retrospect, the kiss hadnt been all that bad. Nothing like the stomach churning love scenes at the end of her horror movies. The soft pressure of Meg's lips against hers had seemed almost...nice. The feel of the red head being so close to her had evoked a strong feeling of protectiveness and something unexplained from Jo, and the delicious taste of the other woman's mouth just couldnt be put into words. Briefly, the gunfighter wondered if she would experience the strange sensation ever again. In all likeliness, she probably wouldnt. After all, Meg had only shown such affection because of the extreme circumstances that had occured on their last mission, so she wouldnt need to do it again, right? That was the only logical explanation. Jo turned her gaze away from her friend and fixed it on the ceiling, trying to forget the whole situation.

It wouldnt happen again.

Would it?

* * *

Takane lay naked on the operating table.

All night, the police woman had watched as at least a dozen men and women in white coats flitted about, attaching drips and cables and all manner of other objects to her body. She was vaguely aware that blood had been pumped into her at some stage, so she now had the energy to at least move her head and speak.

Though, in reality, that was all she was able to do.

Tight leather straps bound the woman's arms and legs to the table, making it impossible to struggle. Her wrists and ankles burned under the tight restraints but, besides voicing a protest, there was little that she could do. As yet another white coated person wandered into her field of view, Takane decided that she had had enough of this. She wanted some questions answered.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you keeping me alive?" asked the brown haired woman, anger and confusion seeping into her voice.

"Because I told them to" replied a dusky voice from somewhere Takane couldnt see. The police woman turned her head, and watched as her scantily clad supposed saviour from the night before pushed back the dividing curtain and entered the small laboratory.

"Why didnt you just kill me?" asked Takane, keeping her eyes on the woman as she sauntered across the room towards the table.

"Because you might be of use to us" replied the violet eyed female, bending over and staring into the brown haired woman's eyes.

"How?" asked Takane, slightly shaken by how extremely close this woman was.

The white haired woman ignored the question and turned her head towards a man operating a computer console.

"Give me a report".

"Well," began the man, eyes not moving from the computer screen, "Because of the high calibre of the autocannon rounds, all her bullet wounds were through-and-throughs. Normally, this would have been fatal, but luckily the shots all missed vital organs. As a bonus, because there were no bullets to dig out of her body, it was a simple task to patch her up. Because of this, all her vital signs are stable, and she should live".

The violet eyed woman turned her attention back to Takane.

"Well, that means we can use you after all".

"Use me for what?" questioned the police woman, eyes wide in panic.

"You'll see" was the simple reply of the other woman as she turned her attention to Takane's body. The police woman watched in embarrassment as the scantily clad female drank in the sight of her naked form, something akin to desire flaring in her eyes.

"Try not to alter her too much," remarked the violet eyed woman as she let her fingers slide across Takane's toned stomach, "she's very pretty".

"Wh..who the h..hell are you?" stammered Takane as she tried to fight against the unwanted ministrations of her captor.

"My name is Maria," replied the woman, glancing up and smiling cruelly at her helpless victim, "and I think you and I will be very good friends".

* * *

Jo stood glancing out of the living room window.

Judging by the towering skyscapers that nearly blocked out the sky, it was clear to the woman that Sei had driven through the night and must have reached Tokyo some time in the early hours. Most likely the dark haired leader of the mercenary group had wanted to flee the scene of their previous mission as quickly as possible, lest they draw attention to themselves by being anywhere near the warehouse district and last night's carnage.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" came a familiar, if sombre sounding voice from behind Jo.

The gunfighter turned, and made contact with the deep blue set of eyes that could only belong to her long time friend. As Jo's crimson gaze fell upon the cowgirl, Meg lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Just staring out the window" was Jo's flat reply.

Meg nodded, not taking her gaze from the floor. The silver haired mercenary made a mental note of her friend's uncharacteristic behaviour. Usually, Meg was bouncy and happy, always smiling and making the occasional joke. Today, however, the red head appeared subdued, almost shy. Gone was her happy exterior, replaced with averting eyes and shuffling feet. This just didnt seem normal to Jo.

"What's the matter?" asked the gunslinger, slightly concerned by Meg's behaviour.

Meg chose not to reply, instead shuffling off to sit on the couch and stare blankly at a wall.

Even though she had only endured a few minutes of this, Meg's attitude was starting to rattle Jo. She didnt like this sadder version of her friend, it just wasnt normal.

"Are you hungry?" asked Jo, trying to make sense of her friend's choice of behaviour.

"No" replied Meg in an unusually dead tone.

"Are you tired?" continued Jo.

Meg shook her head no.

Giving an inward sigh of exasperation, Jo crossed to where her friend was sitting and slumped down beside her. Meg inched away slightly, obviously not wanting to get too close to the other woman.

"Then are you bored?" question Jo, starting to get tired of her lack of answers.

Meg was about to say that she wasnt, but she soon stopped herself. It was late morning on a weekday afternoon. She had been awake since Jo had gotten up, and had done nothing all day. Sei and Amy were still in their rooms, presumably asleep, and there would be nothing on tv. She had to admit, she was a _little_ bored, and besides continuing this awkward silence with Jo (which wasnt really that entertaining), she couldnt see much else to do.

"A little" replied Meg in a small, sullen voice.

Jo nodded her head, finally getting somewhere.

"Then lets go out. I think there's a fair or something down by the beach".

"Ok" sighed Meg, pulling herself up from the couch and heading for the door. Jo followed suit, intent of cheering her friend up because, well, this version of Meg was starting to creep her out. Opening the front door of the camper truck, both girls stepped out into the sunlight and, without words, headed in the direction of the beach.

* * *

Takane screamed in agony.

Men and women in lab coats swarmed around her, injecting syringes of horrible, green liquid into the drips that were attached to the woman's body. As the substance flowed into her veins, the police woman twitched and spasmed, trying desperately to dislodge the needles in her arms and legs and stop the intense pain.

"Dont fight," someone instructed, though Takane couldnt really see who as she had her eyes shut tight against the terrible sensation, "you'll only feel worse".

"What the he...hell are you do...doing to me?" stammered the brown haired girl, trying to make sense of the situation.

"We're injecting you with a mutagen," answered the same unknown voice, "it will make your body more susceptible to change".

"Change?" asked the police woman, trying to focus on anything but the pain, "what...change?"

"We're trying to see if we can successfully splice your human genes with those of the _Panthera Pardus_, or black panther," replied the voice, "please dont struggle. We want this to work".

That only made Takane fight harder.

"You should feel privelaged to be apart of this experiment," continued the voice, "we are going to make you stronger, faster, better. Dont you want that?"

"N..no!" stammered Takane

"Well that's too bad," came the cold reply of the voice, "prepare the glowing brain!".

* * *

Maria sat in the darkened surveillance room that neighbored the main warehouse, going over the tapes from the night before.

"What were you doing here?" she wondered aloud, fast forwarding and rewinding scenes with the use of a computer console. Now that she knew that someone had infiltrated the complex last night, she wanted to find out why.

"Ah, there you are" she stated, finding what she was looking for and playing the tape at normal speed. She watched as Takane's image moved across the screen, investigating the contents of the many cages and crates that littered the warehouse. Maria fast forwarded again, stopping on another scene where Takane could be seen sneaking through the building. Again, Maria watched this and, when satisfied, fast forwarded again. This time, she stopped at the scene that portrayed Takane being shot at by the cybot. The violet eyed woman watched as her captive tried to escape, but was thrown backwards by a hail of gunfire from the RAPT machine.

"That hurt" she remarked, lips curling into a cruel smile. She rewound and played the scene again, just to watch the mayhem for the sheer fun of it. As Takane was again rent asunder by bullets, a flicker of movement from behind a parked vehicle caught Maria's attention. Zooming in on the area, the sadistic woman watched again as movement flickered across the screen. Intrigued, Maria switched camera angles and played the tape again. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

_'Her'_.

The white haired female narrowed her eyes at what she saw. The blood in her body boiled with rage, and she had to refrain from putting her fist through the monitor screen.

_'Her!'_

Crouching down behind the truck for cover, Jo's image could be seen as clear as day. Behind her, a red headed woman in what appeared to be a cowgirl suit screamed in terror as she watched the terrible destruction dealt to Takane.

"So, my cursed 'sister' was here" Maria mused, features twisting into a rictus of hatred. Memories of the cybot fight in the forest that had occured not long ago flashed through the woman's mind, increasing the already substantial feeling of emnity that Maria had for her rival.

Damn her, why wouldnt she just _die_?

Anger and shame flared within Maria as she recalled their last encounter. She knew that she was better than Jo, so why wouldnt the other woman accept it? She could have killed Jo. She _should_ have, but somehow, the gunfighter had escaped her wrath, and now she was forced to live with that. It galled the violet eyed woman that her prey had escaped. It was a permanent mark against her record, and she had to remove it.

Snarling to herself in rage, Maria forced herself to watch the rest of the tape.

And suddenly, something struck the woman.

She watched as her hated rival Jo moved between crates and rubble, seeking an escape while dragging her companion with her. At every turn, it appeared that the gunfighter was trying to keep her friend out of the fire arc of the attacking cybot by pulling her behind cover. In doing this, Jo was slowing herself down in order to make the red headed woman she was running with a less viable target. This was interesting.

"You're protecting her," stated Maria, eyes narrowing in confusion, "why?"

Her question went unanswered as she watched the pair escape the warehouse, just as the tape ended. The woman switched off the computer monitor and leaned back in her chair, contemplating what she had just witnessed.

"So, Jo is fond of this red haired girl," mused Maria, staring up at the ceiling, "why? What is her worth?"

The violet eyed woman continued to ponder this question, intent on finding an answer. She had to admit, she knew little of human relationships, so it confused her as to why her 'sibling' would put herself at risk to keep this other woman safe. Jo obviously valued her companion, but to such a degree as to risk her life? That was insane! Almost no creature on earth would fight for another of its species. That would create competition. An individual creature would only protect another if they were a breeding pair. Suddenly, realisation hit Maria, causing her to sit bolt upright in her chair.

"She's her mate", she concluded, eyes wide in understanding, "that other female belongs to Jo".

As this new found fact slowly filtered into Maria's brain, the woman grew angry again. Her rival wasnt allowed to have a mate! Only the strongest of the species were allowed mates, and Maria was clearly stronger than Jo! Seething with anger and jealousy, Maria decided upon a course of action.

In order to prove her superiority, she had to kill Jo.

And, she had to take her mate.

* * *

Meg sat sullen in the ferris wheel chair.

Beside her, Jo remained silent as she watched the view, completely oblivious to what was going on within Meg's head. The cowgirl looked over sadly to her friend, sighing to herself.

She had kissed Jo.

She had _finally_ kissed Jo.

So why wasnt she happy about?

Last night, Meg knew that she was content with her actions. She knew that she had done the right thing. But now, what did Jo think of her? The gunslinger hadnt said a word about their shared moment of intimacy at all, and the fact that she didnt seem to want to broach the topic made the fiery haired woman wonder if Jo felt the same as she did. Was Jo now wierded out by what happened? Was she trying to forget that it ever happened? Did she even think of Meg as a friend anymore? All these thoughts whirled around the young girl's mind, creating a vortex of confusion from which she couldnt escape.

_'God, please dont let Jo hate me'_, thought Meg, feeling tears starting to prickle at the corners of her eyes, _'i'd die if Jo hated me'_.

While melodramatic, this thought held a large amount of truth for Meg. She had always been with Jo, and she always wanted to be. Even if they could only be friends, she still wanted nothing more than to stay and fight with Jo forever. If her silver haired friend ever left her, she wouldnt know what do to. She wasnt good enough to remain as a mercenary, but she didnt know any other life. Bailan wouldnt want anything to do with her, and then she would be homeless again, just like when she was young. Only this time, there wouldnt be a crimson eyed angel waiting to take her away to a better life. She would be alone. Cold, heartbroken and alone. Meg buried her face in her hands and wept.

"Whats wrong?" asked a familiar voice as Meg felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. Meg parted her fingers to look at her friend through teary eyes.

She had to know the truth.

"Jo," she began, swallowing back her sobs and removing her hands from her face, "about last night..."

"What about it?" asked Jo, confusion evident in her eyes.

"D...do you...hate..me for...what I did?" continued Meg, voice trembling.

"What you did?," asked Jo, still confused, "what did you do?"

Meg glanced at her feet. "I...I kissed you".

"I know," stated Jo, "why did you do it?"

The red headed woman looked back up at her friend, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. "Because...I...I love...you".

Meg put her hands over her face again, new sobs escaping her lips.

_'Oh God,' _she thought, _'she's going to kill me. I shouldnt have said that. Please Jo, dont hate me'_.

"Look at this, Meg" the blue eyed cowgirl heard her companion say. So stunned was she at this unexpected response that Meg pulled her hands away from her eyes and did as she was instructed. The ferris wheel had stopped moving, putting the chair that the two shared at the very top of the ride. Both women looked out over the sprawling landscape that was laid out before them. In the distance, the towers and skyscrapers of Tokyo could be seen rising into the sky, their varying sizes creating a contrasting beauty that couldnt be seen from inside the city. Below them, the coastline stretched out for miles, the glistening water lapping at the shore before being dragged back by the tide, where the process would start again and cycle endlessly. The whole view of breathtaking.

"Its so beautiful" remarked Meg, eyes wide with awe.

"Thats why I brought you here," stated Jo, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders, "I wanted you to see this so you wouldnt be sad anymore".

"So...you dont hate me?" Meg asked, eyes glistening with hope.

In reply, Jo drew her friend closer and placed a light kiss upon her lips.

"No," she said, the edges of her mouth curling up into smile, "I just want you to be happy. I dont like it when you're not".

That was the most beautiful thing Jo had ever said to her. Meg began to cry with happiness.

"You're crying again," said Jo, slightly concerned, "are you sad?"

Meg wrapped her arms around the gunfighter's neck and, for the second time in two days, kissed her.

"No," she replied, placing her forehead against Jo's and staring into the beautiful crimson eyes of the silver haired mercenary, "as long as I'm with you, I'll never be sad again".

* * *

**A/N: **Awww. I just had to end it on a happy note, seeing as the last chapter ended with Takane being all shot up. Ok, before I say anything else, I should probably state the reasoning behind a few things. Firstly, Maria. From the anime, I got the distinct impression that she...how can I put this...preferred the company of women? Thats why i've made her all touchy-feely and wierd with Takane, plus wanting Meg, so I apologise to anyone out there that felt that I should have gone a different way. Also, I figured that, because she only lives to kill and be better than Jo, and because she knows next to nothing about human relationships, she would try and explain things like 'girlfriends' as 'mates' and such. As for Jo, I kind of made her sound a little 'retarded' towards the end there. I did that, not to make her look stupid, but because I wanted to show that she doesnt understand feelings, and that she'd probably equate any kind of negative mood change to being 'sad'. Anyway, thanks must go to all my reviewers. Believe me, if it werent for you guys, I would have given up a long time ago. Please keep the reviews coming, they make me update faster.

Until next time!


	8. Allegiance

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Burst Angel. If I did, I would probably turn it into hentai. Come on, you know you all want it!

* * *

Pain.

Horrible, nauseating pain was the first thing to register within Takane Katsu's mind as she awoke. Sitting up on the cold, thin mattress that served as a bed, the young woman slowly looked around her new surroundings.

Where am I?

As far as the police woman could tell, she was in some kind of holding pen or cell. Save for the mattress that she was sitting on and the large pan of water that sat in a far corner, the room was completely empty. On three sides of the cell, the walls were made from grey blocks of what appeared to be stone. The fourth side was barracaded with thick iron bars that stretched vertically from floor to ceiling. No windows were built to allow any natural light in, the only source of illumination being a flickering bulb that cast a sickly yellow light across the confines of the dank room.

The sound of steady footsteps coming from somewhere close by brought Takane out of her quiet observation, and she snapped her head in the direction of the noise. Before long, a small, portly man in a white lab coat came waddling into view. In one hand he held a clipboard, but that wasnt what caught the brown haired woman's attention.

Held in his other hand, dripping blood and slime across the stone floor, was a slab of decaying meat. Stopping outside the cell, the man held up the steak and waved it back and forth within the police woman's line of sight. Takane's eyes followed the almost hypnotic movement, and her mouth began watering as she suddenly realised just how hungry she was.

Im not really supposed to eat that disgusting thing, am I?

After deciding that his prisoner had probably been teased enough, the man threw the meat between the bars and into the cell. Takane watched as the decaying food slid across the floor and stopped a few feet away from where she was sitting. After a moment, the smell of the steak caught the young woman's nose, cloying and rotten, and her stomach growled. Standing up from her mattress and ignoring the pain that flared within every part of her body, Takane shambled over to the meat and, crouching down, picked it up in both hands.

Its not even cooked! I wont eat this! I'd rather starve!

Without hesitation, the police woman stuffed the steak greedily into her mouth, biting and tearing at the rotten flesh, ignoring the trickles of blood and other fluids dribbling down her chin and splattering onto the floor. On the other side of the bars, the white coated man nodded his head and scribbled something on his clipboard before waddling away. As she finished her disgusting meal, Takane shambled back to her mattress and sat down again.

What have I done!?

Ignoring her thoughts, the police woman began licking the juices from the back of her hands, savouring the taste. Internally, she was disgusted at what she was doing, but she couldnt stop herself. The taste was like nothing she had ever experienced, and she found that she was liking it. The way the rotten fluids sparked her tastebuds into life was almost intoxicating, and the way the meat had slid so easily down her throat almost made her writhe in ecstacy.

"Enjoyed your meal?" asked a soft, sultry voice from the other side of the bars. Talkane whirled her head towards the speaker, unaware of their presence up until now. The brown haired woman's eyes went wide as she took in the sight of the scantily clad female looking in at her.

I know you.

Maria allowed herself to smile as she unlocked a small door and entered the cell, seemingly at ease. While her actions were calm and steady, Takane could sense the aura of cruelty and power that seemed to radiate from this woman, and she slunk cautiously backwards away from her.

"Dont worry," she purred, crouching down and beckoning Takane towards her, "I wont bite".

Confused by this sudden display of what appeared to be kindness, Takane inched forward.

"Thats it," continued Maria, "everything's alright".

The police woman inched forward again, this time stopping just within reach of the white haired female. Maria reached out, placing the tips of her fingers on Takane's head, and began to speak.

"Poor thing. You dont even know why you're here, do you?"

Takane shook her head no and moved closer to the other woman, sensing that she probably wasnt going to harm her.

"You probably havent even noticed this, have you?" continued Maria, moving her hand to the back of Takane's head. To the police woman's surprise, she couldnt feel the other female touching her. Shocked, she placed her hands behind her head.

Takane's eyes went wide as she felt a smooth sphere of glass where the back of her head was meant to be.

"I guess you didnt notice" giggled Maria, enjoying the look of panic upon her captive's face.

"Whh...what...ha...have...y...you...done...t...to..me?" stammered Takane, fighting to speak coherently as her tongue struggled to form the proper syllables.

"What have we done?," repeated Maria, "we've made you better. You're stronger, faster and deadlier than before. You are the model for the perfect soldier".

"W...why?"

"Because we needed a prototype," answered Maria, clearly amused by the other woman's confusion, "we intend to make everyone like this. In this form, not only are you physically superior to your old self, but you are also mentally better. You lack empathy, fear, even survival instincts. You would die willingly if your master commanded you to".

"Massster?," asked Takane, "w..who...massster?".

Maria smiled. "Why, I'm your master of course".

Takane growled deep in her throat and glared at Maria. "N...no. D...dont...want...m...massster".

Maria frowned slightly. "But you must have a master. Who would look after you? Who could ever care for you? Who would want such a monster as you?"

"N...not mon..monssster" replied Takane, moving out of Maria's reach again.

"You dont think so? Then take a look for yourself" said Maria as she indicated the pan of water in the corner. Takane glanced suspiciously at white hairied woman before crawling of all fours to the pan and peering in at her reflection on the water's surface.

What she saw made her gasp.

Staring back at her was not the image of Takane Katsu, but something completely different. Her normally short brown hair had grown longer, reaching down past her shoulders in a shaggy mess. Her canine teeth had grown longer too, pushing over her bottom lip almost to her chin. Her eyes had become yellow and slitted, as if they belonged to a cat, and her ears had become elongated and pointed. Takane scrambled backwards away from the pan and looked down at the rest of her body. She was covered in patches of what appeared thick, dark fur, and her hands had become fused into a claw-like form. Takane began to sob.

"Its not pretty, is it?," purred Maria, moving to where Takane sat and crouching back down next to her, "but dont worry. Your master will look after you. After all, you have nowhere else to turn. Society will not accept you like this".

Maria pulled Takane towards her and rested the woman's head upon her shoulder.

"It must get lonely being locked up all by yourself," continued Maria, stroking Takane's hair and placing an arm around her waist, "you dont have to live like this, down here in this cell. If you accept me as your master, I'll make sure that you're well cared for. People will accept you, even respect you, if you're with me. Do you want that?"

Realising that she had little other choice, Takane sobbed and nuzzled Maria's neck, breathing in the other woman's scent. "Massster".

"Yes," said Maria, smiling cruelly to herself, "master".

* * *

Jo lay on the roof of the camper truck, lazily watching the familiar scenes of her favourite horror movie flash across the screen of her small portable television.

Or, at least, this is how it would appear to a casual observer.

In reality, Jo was thinking. The moment that she and Meg had shared a few days ago upon the ferris wheel had irrevocably changed the friendship that the two girls had once shared. What were they now? Friends? Lovers? The gunfighter didnt know. What was most concerning, however, was that she herself did not know what it was she felt for Meg. In her mind, Jo had felt this way about her fiery haired companion for what seemed like forever. Nothing had changed within her. Meg, on the other hand, appeared to have been lifted of a great and heavy burden that looked as if it had been weighing her down for some time. Should Jo feel that way too?

Before she could contemplate further, the sound of a heavy, metallic hatch being lifted jolted the gunfighter out of her reverie. Turning, her eyes fell upon the familiar features of the very person that was occupying her thoughts.

"I thought I might find you up here" remarked Meg cheerily, climbing through the hatch and positioning herself beside Jo.

The crimson eyed woman didnt respond, instead laying back down on her stomach, folding her arms beneath her chin and turning back to the television.

"Whatcha watching?" asked Meg, resting her head on the gunfighter's elbow and casting her gaze towards the images moving across the television screen.

"Movie" replied Jo bluntly, acutely aware of how very close the other woman was.

Meg mumbled an acknowledgement and began watching the television in silence. It was an old movie that Jo had decided to watch, something about zombies taking over New York. Meg had seen it many times before, but that didnt stop her from getting scared about halfway through. Giving a small yelp, she threw her hands over her head and buried her face into Jo's arm.

"Why are you watching this?" asked Jo, deadpan, as she continued to watch the movie.

"What?" came Meg's muffled reply, not lifting her head from her chosen sanctuary.

"You dont like horror movies," continued Jo, smirking as she watched yet another stupid actress get killed in a particularly gruesome way, "so why are you up here?".

"I wanted to see where you were" was the red head's reply as she peeked up to look at Jo.

"But you knew where I was," pressed Jo, glancing down at her friend, "so why are you still here?".

Meg looked up at her, shock and hurt registering on her face at her friend's answer.

"I...I just..." she stammered, eyes watering as she gazed downwards, "I just w...wanted...to see you. If you d..dont...want me here, I'll leave".

If Jo didnt know any better, she could swear that Meg was upset.

"Are you crying?," asked Jo, propping herself up on one elbow, "you shouldnt be. You cry too much".

At that, Meg snapped her head up.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded angrily, wiping her eyes.

Jo didnt quite know what was going on here, but she realised that she was digging herself into a very deep hole.

"I just think that you shouldnt cry so much" answered Jo, trying to rectify this ever worsening situation.

"Do you think I'm some kind of weak crybaby?," asked Meg, her temper rising.

"No, no," replied Jo, trying to remember what she did to get herself into this mess, "I just think that sometimes you can be a bit...emotional".

That really hit a nerve. Placing her hands on the gunfighter's shoulder's, Meg pushed Jo onto her back, following through with the movement so that she was pinning the other woman down. Jo found herself looking up, stunned, into the rage-filled eyes of the red haired cowgirl.

"I may be an emotional person," continued Meg, moving her head downwards so that the noses of the two women were touching, "but that does _not_ make me weak, and it hurts me deeply that you would think so".

"That's not what I meant," Jo replied, surprised that this fierce version of Meg even existed, "I only meant that you shouldnt get upset so much because you dont need to".

"What?" asked Meg, the answer taking her completely off guard.

"I mean," continued Jo, "I'm here for you. I dont like it when you're sad because you never say why you are. If you just told me when you felt sad and why, then I could help you".

At that answer, the anger completely vanished from Meg's face, to be replaced with a light shade of pink.

"You...you really...mean that?" asked the cowgirl, her eyes shining with fresh tears.

"Yes, I do," replied Jo, thankful that the situation had been defused, "but why are you crying this time?".

Meg's bottom lip began to tremble.

"Because...because...oh Jo!" exclaimed the red head, throwing her arms around the gunfighter's neck and kissing her hard. Jo was taken aback, not having expected this sort of reaction. However, it didnt take long for her to respond to the gentle caress of the cowgirl's lips against her own, and she placed her hands upon her companion's hips, enjoying the sensation.

"Oooooh, such passion!" came a mocking voice from behind the two women. Meg broke the kiss and turned, Jo lifting her head to see who exactly had decided to interrupt her at such an enjoyable moment. There, poking out of the hatch that led onto the roof, was the unmistakable piggy-tailed head of Amy.

"Sei told me to tell you that dinner is ready, but I guess you're too busy playing tonsil-hockey to be hungry" smirked Amy, wagging her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"GOD DAMN IT AMY! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" screamed Meg, getting to her feet and running towards the little girl. Amy giggled hysterically and dived back down the hatch, singing 'Jo and Meg, sitting in a tree...' at the top of her lungs. As Meg disappeared after her, Jo was left to wonder one thing.

What the hell just happened here!?

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait between chapters everyone, but I just finished my exams. Hopefully, that will mean that I can update more regularly. Well, what can I say? I wanted to do the whole "Meg has a fight with Jo and makes out with her" thing. I hope that didnt seem too strange to you guys. As for Maria and Takane, its not what you think! Maria may be a raging homosexual with a sadistic streak a mile wide, but she's not about to start having sex with a kitty-hybrid! (At least, I dont THINK she will...). Anyways, as ever, reviews are MOST welcome. I appreciate your input, so please give it to me! Or I will cry. Seriously.

Until next time!


	9. Plots and Realisations

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Burst Angel... Some Japanese guy does... Some Japanese guy who is not me.

* * *

Maria strode through the dim corridors of the holding area, clutching a small portfolio to her chest and smirking to herself as she went.

The experiment couldn't have gone any better.

Over the past week, the once human creature Takane had been put through many tough and rigorous scientific tests, each designed to test her new abilities and psyche. At first, the test subject had been very averse to taking the lives of innocent humans, but several sessions of torture and being starved of food had made a dramatic impact upon Takane. Now, the beast seemed unfazed by casual bloodshed, often feeding on the poor unfortunates whom she was commanded to slay. Of course, Maria didn't care about Takane's victims. After all, they were just homeless men and women who spent their days begging for change and generally being an unclean presence amongst the city's populace. Surely she was doing Osaka's council a service by removing filth from the streets?

Rounding a corner, the scantily clad woman found the cell of the creature that had been occupying her thoughts. Peering through the gloom, Maria could make out the figure of Takane, curled up on her thin and dirty mattress in a fitful sleep. Smiling wickedly, the white haired woman kicked the bars of the cell, causing them to shudder violently and emit a terrible ringing sound. Instantly, Takane jumped into the air, landing in a half crouching position and hissing in warning at this unexpected wake up call. What little light there was in the dank holding cell reflected off her eyes, giving them an unnatural glow.

"Good morning, my pretty" cooed Maria in her sultry voice.

Takane growled deep in her throat and lay back down upon her mattress, recognising the female who was looking in at her through the bars.

"Did you sleep well?" continued the violet eyed woman, taking a set of keys that hung on the wall and unlocking the cell door. The beast growled again, watching as the other woman entered the cell and wandered over to her. Takane allowed her master to crouch beside her and stroke her long, matted hair, purring in pleasure at the sensation.

"You know who I am, don't you?" asked Maria, revelling in the power that she was able to wield over this creature.

"Massster" managed Takane, arching her back to allow the other woman to stroke it.

"That's right," praised Maria, letting her fingers glide down the beast's spine and shivering in delight at the soft mewling sounds the action elicited, "and what does that mean?".

"Th..that I...do...w..wh...what..massster...s..ssayss" replied Takane, closing her eyes in bliss.

"Very good" stated Maria, watching the creature's reactions to her ministrations and smiling to herself. This answer told her two things. The first was that this monstrosity was completely bound to her will. The beast would do as it was told, because it understood that it belonged to its master. The second was that Maria may now finally be ready to implement her own schemes, so long as she kept them quiet from her higher ups. She had far from forgotten the night when her cursed sister had broken into the warehouse laboratory and threatened to jeopardise everything that she and so many others had worked for. Ignoring the anger that seethed within her, Maria lay the portfolio that she held in her hand on the ground and continued.

"I know you've been through many tests, my pretty, but I have just one more for you".

Takane glanced quizzically at the folder in front of her, watching as Maria opened it and produced a pair of photographs.

_I know these people._

Both photos depicted women, but they were very different from each other. One woman had deep red eyes and short silver hair. She looked stern and cold, seemingly giving off an air of muted hostility. In contrast, the woman in the other photo had bright sapphire eyes and long red hair. She seemed very happy, and was smiling at the camera.

"You recognise them, yes?" asked the scantily clad woman, glancing sideways at the creature for confirmation.

"Yesss" said Takane, not taking her eyes from the photographs.

"Not long ago, these two left you to die," continued Maria, "you were hurt very badly, but they ran away".

"Ran...a..away?" asked Takane, shocked.

"Yes," replied the violet eyed woman, trying to look sympathetic, "they didn't care about you. You meant nothing to them".

Takane glared down at the photographs, baring her elongated canines as anger boiled within her. "N..n...nothing".

"But your master cares about you," soothed Maria, stroking Takane's head, "and because your master cares, we will make them pay".

Takane began to purr. "Massster...c...cares".

"See this picture?" asked the white haired female, indicating the photograph of the red haired woman.

Takane nodded slightly.

"I want you to bring her to me alive," stated Maria, "but you must be careful. She will be protected by this one". The violet eyed woman pointed at the photo of the silver haired female.

"Y...yesss...massster" replied Takane, nodding again.

"Tonight, I will take to Tokyo, where these women live. They will find you, and when they do, you will make them pay for what they did to you" smirked Maria, enjoying how simple it was to manipulate this creature.

Takane snarled, shredding the photographs of the two women with her clawed hands. "Pay".

* * *

"Hey Jo, you wanna go see a movie or something?"

The gunfighter rolled over on the couch and lazily opened one eye to look at her red headed companion. Meg was sitting at a table by the window and scanning though the entertainment section of the weekly newspaper.

"There's a good romance movie on this afternoon, and I thought we could go watch it together".

Jo closed her eye and rolled back over before replying "No".

"Aw, you're no fun" sulked Meg, flipping the pages of the newspaper to find something worth reading.

"You just wanna go to the movies so that you can make out" teased Amy, sitting on the floor and taking a broken keyboard apart.

"Shut it you brat!" shouted the red head, throwing the newspaper at the little girl. Meg's aim was poor, and the paper landed just in front of Amy.

"I'm gonna go tell Sei that you...hey, what's this?" started the girl before glancing at one of the pages that had come loose upon the newspaper's impact. Amy bent low and read the title of an article aloud.

"_RAPT sponsors medical research_".

"What?," asked Meg, momentarily forgetting that she was fighting with her younger friend, "since when does RAPT sponsor anything?".

Amy scanned he next few lines lines of the article.

"Says here that RAPT dished out some major cash to support a small medical group in Osaka researching genetics. They say that the research this group is doing could help to cure cancer or something".

"Of course!" stated Jo, sitting bolt upright on the couch.

"You think RAPT could help cure cancer?" asked Meg, puzzled.

"No," said Jo, turning to face the confused cowgirl, "remember the warehouse in Osaka? We found scientists experimenting on animals".

"So?" asked Meg, still not seeing where the conversation was going.

"So," continued Jo, remembering back to their last mission, "there was a RAPT cybot protecting the place. That's the medical group they're funding!".

"Yeah!," exclaimed the red head, finally understanding, "and I bet that RAPT supplied the glowing brain that we saw there too!".

"But why would RAPT be supporting a medical group?," asked Amy, "what have they got to gain?"

"I don't know," replied Jo, "but at least we now have a clue about where the glowing brains are coming from".

"We should tell Sei," stated Meg, getting up from the table and heading in the direction of the older woman's bedroom, "we should see if she agrees with us".

Jo nodded her head and watched as her friend went off to find their leader. As the gunfighter began to process this newly discovered information, she realised that what they had uncovered at the warehouse in Osaka was bigger than they originally thought.

* * *

A small van pulled silently into a deserted alleyway in Tokyo's Shibuya district.

As the vehicle's engine was turned off, a slim, white haired figure emerged from the front driver side door. Taking a quick look around just to make sure that they were not being watched, Maria took the key out of the van's ignition and used it to open the back door. The violet eyed woman had to suppress a cruel laugh as she watched the ragged form of Takane Katsu tumble out of vehicle, landing heavily on the dirty ground with a dull thud.

"I forgot to mention that there were no seatbelts back there" smirked Maria.

Takane growled and stood up, dusting herself off.

"W...wh...where...are...w..we?" asked Takane, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"This," replied Maria, throwing her arm out so as to emphasise the area, "is the Shibuya district, in Tokyo. Do you remember why you are here?".

Takane's lip curled back, exposing her canines, and her face contorted in anger. "Pay".

"Yes," smiled Maria, scratching the creature behind the ears, "I'm glad you remember. Now, you stay here until the two women in the photographs come and find you, and don't forget, I want the red headed one alive".

"W...wh...what...do I..do...till...th...then?" asked Takane, turning towards her master.

"Kill," stated Maria simply, walking back towards the driver side of the van, "kill and feed".

As Takane watched her master get into the vehicle and drive away, a basic yet sinister thought entered her mind.

_I'm hungry_.

* * *

**A/N: **Oooooh! Things are really starting to move along now! Ok, I know there was no romance in this chapter, but there will be later (and by later, I mean next chapter). Besides, if it was ALL romance, the story wouldn't get anywhere! Anyway, like always, please send me lots and lots of tasty reviews. I really do appreciate them, and they help me to keep on writing. Flames can also be sent, but they will make me a sad little bakuten writer.

Until next time!


	10. Confrontation

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Burst Angel. Hell, if I did, do you really think i'd be writing fanfiction?

* * *

**A/N: **Well, it's that time again. Time to thank all you wonderful readers for your reviews. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be writing.

**renny-chan: **I'm so very glad that you like this story. It's reviews like yours that really drive me to keep writing. Please review more often!

**minceo: **Thanks for the compliments, good to know you like my stuff. I don't know yet if Meg will get done by Maria. We will just have to see. And yes, I am going for a more sinister story. Thanks for being a dedicated reviewer!

**angel prototype: **Another dedicated reviewer! If you're hoping for some feline tail whooping in this chapter, then I dont think you're gonna like the ending. Thanks for being a fan.

And now, on with the story!

* * *

"Hey Linda, check this out!"

Crouching down in one of the many alleyways in the slum district of Shibuya, a young man beckoned towards something that had caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as his companion, a blonde-haired woman, picked her way through trash and grime towards the place that was being indicated.

"Ew, what is it?" she asked, peering over her friend's shoulder to get a better look.

What the pair were looking at was a pile of dirty, bloodstained clothes. The scraps of cloth appeared to have once been a shirt and a pair of jeans, but it looked like someone had taken a knife to them. The material was torn and ragged, and any emblems or logos that were embroidered on the garments were so soaked with blood that they were unrecognizable. As Linda studied the ruined outfit in morbid fascination, the male reached out and picked up the jeans.

"Put that down Josh, that's gross!" exclaimed the blonde, pulling a disgusted face.

"I'm just checking for cash" replied her companion, stuffing his hands into the pockets. Coming up empty, he threw the pants away and proceeded to pick up the shirt. As he did so, something inside the garment fell out of one of the tears in the fabric and hit the ground with a wet thud.

Linda screamed.

Lying at the feet of her male companion, the bloodied, severed head of a dark haired youth stared lifelessly up at late afternoon sky. The face had been horribly disfigured with many cuts and lacerations. An eye hung limply from the left socket, and a portion of the skull had been carved away, allowing brain matter to ooze onto the ground. Josh recoiled in horror, hurriedly discarding the shirt and jumping several feet backwards.

"Oh my god...oh my GOD!" shrieked Linda, trembling in shock and pointing a shaking finger at the grisly sight.

"Hurry, call the police" instructed Josh, trying hard to avoid throwing up. Linda nodded, turning her back on the horrible scene and pulling a cell phone from her pocket. She began to dial the numbers, but a shout from behind momentarily caught her attention.

"What's wrong?" asked the blonde, spinning on her heel at the sound towards her friend.

What she saw petrified her with terror.

Being suspended several inches above the ground, Josh choked and gasped for breath. Holding him by the neck in the air, a gore streaked, matted haired woman grinned maniacally up at the struggling male.

"P...please...don't...k...kill...me" gurgled Josh, eyes wide with fear as he pleaded for his life. His tormentor grinned wider, exposing long canines. Before he could beg again, the woman growled in bestial triumph and sank her fangs into her victim's jugular. Josh spasmed as the woman savagely tore away a chunk of flesh, sending a spray of blood fountaining skywards. Swallowing the warm meat and dropping the twitching body on the ground, the unknown female turned her mad gaze upon Linda.

"N...no...don't...please" stammered Linda, walking backwards so as to keep her eyes upon the blood spattered killer who was slowly advancing towards her. Suddenly the blonde felt herself bump into the alley wall behind her, and she knew then that there would be no chance of escape. Throwing her hands over her head and screaming at the top of her lungs, Linda watched as the other female lunged towards her. Pain exploded in her chest as the killer plunged a clawed hand through soft flesh and brittle bone, seizing Linda's beating heart and wrenching it from her body. Then all went black.

The blonde woman was dead before she hit the ground, which meant that she didn't have to see Takane messily devour the still pumping organ.

* * *

The bedroom door burst open with a thunderous crash.

Jo sat up sharply, reaching for the guns that she kept on her bedside table. Meg squealed in shock and tumbled out of bed onto the floor.

"Morning sleepyheads," chirped an annoyingly happy Amy, "time to wake up!".

"God damn it Amy," moaned Meg, picking herself up off the ground and rubbing her head, "what have I told you about knocking?".

"This is important," stated the little girl, running to Jo's side of the bed and dragging the yawning gunfighter to her feet, "Sei wants both of you".

Jo didn't complain as she was pulled along behind her youngest companion, throwing a glance over her shoulder to make sure that Meg was following. Amy led the two out into the kitchen area of the camper truck, where Sei sat patiently at the dinner table. After depositing her sleepy cargo opposite the raven haired leader, the brown eyed little girl ran to fetch her laptop.

"What's this about?" asked Meg, sitting down beside her silver haired friend and giving Sei a quizzical look.

"I received a call from Bailan early this morning," replied the older woman, "we have a job".

"Job?," asked Jo, "what kind of job?".

"A search mission" answered Amy, scampering back to the table with her plush toy computer in tow. Sitting herself down beside Sei and opening the device, the little girl began to rapidly type on the keyboard as her older friend explained.

"Have you heard about what's been happening in the Shibuya district lately?"

"You mean those disappearances?," asked Meg, "the one's on the news?".

"Exactly," confirmed Sei, nodding her head, "people have been going missing in Shibuya over the last few weeks. Two more people disappeared yesterday. RAPT refuses to do anything about it, so Bailan wants us to do some investigating".

"Why is Bailan interested in these disappearances anyway?" asked Jo bluntly.

"Because," replied the older woman, "it's suspicious that RAPT isn't taking action, which means that something might be going on. It will be your job to find out what that something might be".

"So, where exactly in Shibuya are we meant to look?," asked Meg, perplexed, "I mean, Shibuya isn't a small place. We could be there forever!".

"I can give you that information" answered Amy, looking up from her computer and turning the device towards her friends. On the screen, a map of the Shibuya district was displayed. Here and there, little red crosses were scattered across the map, congregating in a central region.

"What do these crosses mean?" asked Jo, pointing to one of the little marks at random.

"These indicate where the missing people were last reported to have been seen, either by other people or by security cameras," replied the little girl, "most of the crosses appear to be located around some sort of abandoned factory".

"That seems as good a place as any to start looking," remarked Jo, getting up from the table and heading back towards her room, "I'm going to get changed. If we leave now, we should be able to get there late this afternoon".

Meg also rose from the table and followed the gunfighter. As Sei watched both women depart, Amy turned towards the dark haired leader.

"What do you think they'll find?"

"I don't know," answered Sei, running a hand through her hair, "but whenever we take a job, it usually turns out to be something bad".

* * *

The run-down factory stood large and ominous in the dying light of the sun.

Jo pulled her jacket tighter about herself as the air around her became chillier with the onset of evening. Meg stood beside her, shivering with the cold, her outfit not designed for warmth.

"Well, this looks like the place" stated Jo, taking in the site of the rusted building. Meg nodded in agreement, too busy rubbing her hands together to generate heat to answer. Not taking any notice of her friend's discomfort, Jo strode through the open doorway of the factory.

The interior of the building was even more foreboding than the exterior. With no light to speak of, the room in which Jo stood was swathed in darkness. Here and there, she could see overturned industrial drums and rotting cardboard boxes. The place smelled of decay, and it felt like a million pairs of eyes were watching her every movement.

"This place is creepy" muttered Meg, who had followed the gunfighter inside and was now standing off to Jo's left. The silver haired woman ignored the comment and wandered around the factory floor, her blue eyed friend keeping close so as to not get lost in the gloom.

"Eeeeeew! I stepped on something and it moved!" whined Meg, latching onto Jo's arm and burying her face in the other woman's shoulder. The crimson eyed female took a private moment to enjoy the physical closeness between herself and her friend, before a sound from above jolted her into alertness.

"What was that?" asked a visibly frightened Meg, tightening her grip on Jo's arm. The gunfighter put a finger to her lips to indicate silence and peered up into the rafters above her. She couldn't see anything, but she was sure something, or someone, was up there. The sound was made again, this time coming from off to the left. The silver haired female moved towards the sound, keeping her eyes on the ceiling and putting an arm around Meg so as to know exactly where she was. Suddenly, a blur of movement to the right caught Jo's attention, making her pivot on the spot and draw her Desert Eagles, only to find nothing there.

"Something's in here," remarked the gunfighter, glancing left and right, "and it's playing with us".

Letting her hands hang limply by her sides, Jo turned around.

And came face to face with a blood streaked, grinning monstrosity.

Instinctively, the silver haired woman brought her guns up. She wasn't fast enough, however, and she was sent flying backwards by a thunderous blow. Pain flared in Jo's abdomen, and she realized that she had been hit by a powerful right hook.

"Jo!" shouted Meg, running towards her friend and kneeling down. The gunfighter picked herself up, using the red head for support, and turned to face her attacker, ready to deal out revenge.

But shock stopped her dead in her tracks.

To her disbelieving eyes, standing in front of Jo, stood Takane.

"T...Takane?," asked Jo, completely caught off guard, "But...how...you were dead!".

Takane paid no notice to Jo, instead focusing her mad gaze upon Meg. She took several steps forward, causing Meg to whimper and move behind Jo for protection. As the sun outside began to set, light spilled in through one of the many broken windows on the factory wall, briefly illuminating the interior of the building.

Jo stared in shock, and Meg gasped.

Standing before them was not the Takane that both women used to known. This version of their friend had hair that was much longer, and matted with gore. Her once white coat was now tattered and dirty. What appeared to be patches of fur could be seen growing on her arms and legs, and her canine teeth had become longer, growing down past her bottom lip. Most shocking of all, the back of the woman's head was now replaced with a clear dome, and something within it pulsed rhythmically with a sickly, green glow.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Jo, half raising her guns as she tried to comprehend the sight in front of her. In response, Takane hissed dangerously, leaping a full twenty feet straight up in the air to land on one of the rafters in the ceiling. Hissing again, Takane scampered along the rafter, disappearing from sight as the sun outside sank lower, once again covering the room in darkness.

"W...was that..." asked Meg, pointing at the spot where the other woman had just been standing.

"Yeah, it was," replied Jo, studying the roof again, "and I think she's the reason why people have been going missing".

The pair began to walk the factory floor again, this time knowing what they were searching for. Now and again, Jo heard Takane moving about above her, but she could never quite pinpoint exactly where the other woman was.

"Let's get out of here, Jo," stated Meg, trembling with fear and tugging on her friend's sleeve, "we can come back in the morning when it's brighter. She'll still be here".

Before Jo could reply, a heavy weight landed on her chest, sending the gunfighter sprawling to the ground. Her guns fell from her hands and clattered away into the darkness. Staring down at her, Takane grinned maniacally, baring her fangs. Jo kicked the other woman off her, buying her time to stand up. Takane fell to the floor, but sprang to her feet instantly and leapt at the silver haired female. Jo barely had time to dodge a blow from Takane's clawed hand that would surely have taken her head off had it connected, stepping back out of the way. The police woman wasted no time, she again lunged at the silver haired female, this time landing a hit on Jo's shoulder. Both fabric and skin tore as Takane's razor sharp claws found their mark, and Jo grunted in pain. A second swipe was aimed at Jo's head, but the gunfighter stepped back out of harm's way again, narrowly avoiding another deathblow.

"Damn, she's so strong and fast" muttered Jo under her breath as she fought to survive. The pair of combatants battled on, Takane launching one blistering attack after the other, Jo moving backwards to avoid danger. As the crimson eyed woman dodged yet another powerful strike, her foot connected with something hard and metallic. She glanced downwards to be greeted by the sight of one of her Desert Eagles. Briefly, Jo thought that she now stood a chance.

But that thought didn't last long.

The second Jo's eyes wavered away from her opponent, Takane struck. Catching the gunfighter by surprise, the police woman sent an almighty shot into Jo's chest. The force of the blow was so powerful that the silver haired woman was sent flying through the air, only to stop suddenly as she collided with a wall. Takane roared victoriously as she watched blood explode from Jo's mouth, the gunfighter sliding down the wall to land in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Oh my god, Jo!" screamed Meg, sprinting towards her companion. She didn't get far as Takane interposed herself between the frantic red head and her defeated friend. Meg screamed as her former friend grabbed her around the waist. Throwing the girl over her shoulder, the brown haired woman cast a final glance at the vanquished form of her foe before loping away.

Jo could do nothing as she watched Takane escape, Meg beating her fists against her kidnapper's back and sobbing for her crimson eyed friend. Then the gunfighter's vision swam, and she sank into darkness.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait between updates everyone. I'm kinda suffering from the effects of a christmas/new years bender (oooooh, my head...). Anyway, thanks for bearing with me. So, what will happen to Meg? Is Jo alright? What the hell is going on? Hopefully some of these questions will be answered in the next installment of To Love An Angel! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Please keep 'em coming. Knowing that there are people out there reading my work really inspires me to write.

Until next time!


	11. Torn

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Burst Angel. It owns me.

**Warning: **This chapter contains a scene that depicts sexual abuse. If you don't like that sort of thing, then the writer suggests that you don't read it. You have been warned.

* * *

Soft moonlight filtered in through a barred window, illuminating the cold and gloomy room with a gentle glow.

Meg hung limp from an old stone wall, too exhausted to stand, only being supported by the chains that bound her wrists. The details of her kidnapping were fuzzy in her mind. All that the red head remembered was that she had been carried many miles by Takane, dragged across rooftops and through dingy alleyways, until they had arrived at wherever she was now. The other details of the experience were lost from her memory, all except for one, vivid scene.

_Jo_.

A single tear trailed slowly down the cowgirl's cheek as she recalled her last moments with the ruby eyed fighter. She remembered how Jo had struggled with the monstrous creature that was once her friend, staying just out of harm's way as Takane tried to rip her to pieces. She remembered the look of pain that crossed the gunfighter's face when her shoulder had been rent by the beast's terrible claws, and the sickening sound that was made as she collided with the wall. But what stuck with Meg the most was the sight of Jo lying bloodied and torn in a heap on the ground. In all the years that she had known her friend, the red head had never seen Jo like that. Indeed, over the countless battles and skirmishes that the two had been through, she had grown to believe that the silver haired female was unbeatable. However, seeing her idolized image of Jo shattered and broken had hit home a simple truth: that the woman was not invincible. That notion alone was enough to reduce Meg to a whimpering mess, and she wept openly.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't cry".

Meg whipped her head up at the words, startled. Through teary eyes, the cowgirl could make out the figures of two people standing by the doorway at the far end of the room. As the smaller, hunched figure closed the door that the two had obviously entered through, the taller one moved towards Meg. As the unknown person came closer, the red head could see that it was a woman. She wore a figure hugging and very revealing suit that appeared to be made from leather, and her snowy hair was set into an odd design.

"Who are you?" asked Meg, uncertain as to whether this was friend or foe. The woman smiled kindly, moving to stand before to cowgirl.

"My name is Maria," replied the woman in her sultry voice, "and I believe that you already know my friend".

Meg turned her gaze towards the other figure, who came scampering across the room to sit on her haunches at Maria's side. Takane nuzzled the scantily clad woman affectionately, purring in satisfaction as her master reached down and stroked the creature's back.

"It's amazing," continued Maria, moving her hand through Takane's long hair, "even when they are left stranded miles from home, pets still instinctively know their way back".

It took a moment for the full gravity of what the other woman had said to sink in before Meg understood. "You mean..._you_ did that to Takane!?".

"She's more useful to me this way" answered Maria simply. Having had enough attention for the moment, Takane wandered away from the violet eyed female, moving off to find a corner to curl up and sleep in.

"Why did she bring me here?" asked Meg, unable to comprehend her current predicament. The cowgirl shivered slightly as the white haired female grinned wider.

"Because you will soon belong to me".

A mixture of confusion and anger flared within Meg. "What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?".

Maria chuckled to herself, inching closer to her captive. Meg shuffled backwards, pressing herself as hard as she could against the cold stone wall behind her.

"It means that your precious Jo will come looking for you," replied Maria, ignoring the other woman's blatant attempts to put distance between them, "but when she finds you, I will be waiting for her".

"What!?" asked Meg, shock and incomprehension registering in her voice.

"And when she tries to come to your aid, I will destroy her," continued Maria, edging so close that now her and Meg's noses touched, "I will beat her black and blue. I will leave bloody tears in her flesh and break every bone in her body. And when she is lying broken and defeated at my feet, I will take you, her precious mate, as my trophy. I will finally prove to the world that I am better than her, and you will be my testament to that".

Meg gasped as Maria grasped her chin. Tilting the cowgirl's head sideways, the scantily clad female brought her face down to the exposed area, inhaling the scent.

"You smell nice" she cooed, brushing her lips over the curve of her captive's throat.

"Let me go" pleaded Meg, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and trying to block out the unwanted sensation. She whimpered slightly as the other woman began nipping a path up her neck.

"I bet your beloved Jo never paid _this _much attention to you" responded Maria, tracing the tip of her tongue across the cowgirl's earlobe.

"Please...just leave me alone" whispered Meg, letting her head drop forward and allowing her long hair to fall about her face in an attempt to obscure the tears that were forming in her eyes. Maria ignored her, allowing her hands to roam freely over the contours of the other woman's body. The violet eyed female smiled as she let her fingers glide over the red head's breasts, feeling the nipples harden under the flimsy fabric of the shirt.

"Please...stop it" Meg sobbed, hating the way her body was reacting to unwanted ministrations of her captor. Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Maria allowed her hands to wander lower, coming to rest on the cowgirl's stomach.

"You may struggle now," purred the white haired female in a sexy voice, "but soon you'll come to me willingly. When your little girlfriend has been dealt with, you'll beg me for this". Maria let her fingers move beneath the hem of her captive's tight fitting shorts, and Meg struggled.

"No...please" she whimpered, but again Maria refused to listen as her fingers found their way to Meg's most personal space. The cowgirl shuddered violently as Maria stroked her labia, sending shock waves through her body.

"No...no...I don't want...no" cried Meg, tears flowing freely down her face as she tried desperately to focus on anything but what was happening to her. Maria smiled cruelly as she entered the girl, enjoying the way her prisoner bucked against the intrusion.

Her captor's penetration was too much for her body to handle, and Meg climaxed hard, feeling the muscles in her pelvis contract and twitch erratically. Satisfied, Maria withdrew her hand, grinning triumphantly to herself as she studied the clear fluid that now coated her fingers. Meg slumped forward, letting herself hang uselessly by her arms as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"I'll send someone along with a meal for you later" stated Maria, licking her fingers and motioning for Takane to follow her as she strode across the room. Meg said nothing as the two exited through a doorway by the far wall, hearing it being locked from the outside. As she listened to the complete silence within the now empty room, the red head felt a cold numbness creep over her.

She wanted to be sick.

She wanted to die.

And yet, even as the horrors of what she had just endured began to sink in, Meg felt that, in some inexplicable way, she had hurt Jo. Fresh tears began to fall from the cowgirl's sapphire eyes as that thought alone began to tear her heart in two.

"Jo...I'm sorry".

* * *

It was dark by the time Jo regained consciousness.

Wincing slightly in pain, the gunfighter sat up from her bed and looked around, taking in her surroundings. From what the silver haired female could make out, she appeared to be back in her own room in the team's camper truck.

"How the hell did I get back here?" she asked herself, not quite remembering when she had returned home.

"Amy tracked you down through your communicator, so we brought you back" replied a familiar voice. Jo turned her attention to the source, and noticed Sei sitting casually in a small chair in the corner of the room. The team leader smiled as she rose from her seated position, crossing the room and sitting back down on Jo's bed.

"You got pretty beat up out there," continued Sei, indicating towards Jo's shoulder, "looks like you got into a fight".

Jo looked down at herself and understood immediately what her older friend meant. The gunfighter was covered in cuts and bruises, many of which were wrapped in bandages. The wound that she received on her shoulder was heavily stitched, and her back still hurt from where she had hit the warehouse wall. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.

_Meg!_

Sitting up straighter, Jo tried to climb out of bed, only to have Sei push her back down.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?," shouted Jo, trying to sit back up, "Meg's in trouble!".

"I know" stated Sei calmly, trying to restrain the crimson eyed mercenary.

"Then let me go!" said Jo fiercely, struggling against her older companion.

"No" replied Sei simply, keeping a firm hold on Jo. The response caught the gunfighter completely off guard, and she stopped her struggles immediately.

"No?"

"You're in no condition to fight," said Sei, releasing her grip on her now cooperating friend, "you've been unconscious for over twenty-four hours. You've sustained extensive injuries, in total seventeen bruises, twenty two minor cuts, one major laceration to your shoulder and four cracked ribs. Right now, you're not going anywhere".

"I don't care, I'm gonna go save Meg" replied the gunfighter, ignoring her friend and trying to get out of bed again. Once more, Sei pushed her back, this time with enough force to let the other woman know that she really meant it. Jo glowered up at her.

"If you try anything rash in your condition, you'll die," stated the dark haired woman, glaring back at Jo, "and if you die, then Meg won't get rescued".

Jo didn't say anything. Deep down, she knew that Sei was right. Instead, she chose to scowl at the other woman, just to make herself feel better. For several minutes, the gunfighter and her employer just glared at each other, both letting the other know that they were not in the mood to be trifled with. However, it wasn't long before Sei turned away, her expression softening, and she asked Jo an unexpected question.

"Why do you do it?"

Jo's expression changed to one of confusion, not understanding the question fully.

"Why do I do what?"

"Why do you put your own life at risk to ensure Meg's safety?" asked Sei, turning her gaze back towards Jo.

"Because she's my friend" replied Jo, unsure as to why that answer should be so mysterious.

"I'm aware of that," continued Sei, smiling to herself, "but what makes her so special that you would move heaven and earth to make certain that she's safe? Why is it that you will not rest, even if you're grievously wounded, even if the odds are stacked against you and even if your opponent is more powerful than you, until you know that no harm will come to her?".

Jo stared at her companion, dumbstruck. She didn't know how to reply.

"You love her, don't you?" finished the older woman, making the last part more of a statement than a question.

The words hit the gunfighter like a physical blow.

Was that what the answer was? Was that the word that she had been searching for all this time? Jo knew that she couldn't describe her feelings for her red headed friend, but that was because she didn't know how. After so many years, after all the inner turmoil and confusion that she had suffered for so long, could this finally explain what she felt? After what seemed like forever, the crimson eyed mercenary turned her attention back towards Sei.

"I...I think...I do".

The dark haired leader smiled, patting Jo on her uninjured shoulder.

"I know you do".

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I seemed to get that chapter up pretty quick, eh? So, what did everybody think? I know, I know, Meg got abused, but I promise that her experience will play an important part in the later development of the story. Also, it finally seems like Jo has made a decision about those feelings that she kept on mulling over way back in the earlier chapters. See? I didn't forget about them! Ok, as I say every time, please be generous with your reviews. I really love reading them, plus they keep me writing. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter!

Until next time!


	12. Second Encounter

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Burst Angel. So for those people who keep asking me for another series, cut it out!

* * *

Meg awoke slowly from her sleep.

She had been dreaming. In her fantasy, she and Jo had been walking through a field of flowers, holding hands and chatting idly. The sunshine was warm on their skin, and a gentle breeze blew past the two of them, whipping up stray strands of Meg's hair and blowing them into her face. Jo reached out to tuck the offending stands behind Meg's ear, and it was then that the gunfighter had leaned in and kissed her. Jo's lips gently caressed Meg's own, the sensation so soft that the red head wasn't actually sure if she could feel it or not. Then, as the kiss broke and the gunfighter pulled back, eyes staring deeply into Meg's own, the cowgirl heard Jo breathe the three words that her heart had longed to hear for what seemed like forever.

"I love you".

And then reality crashed through Meg's consciousness like a speeding locomotive.

As the red head woke, she could feel a dull pain throbbing through her arms, caused from where she slumped forward against her chains. The shackles that bound her wrists felt tight on her skin, and the coldness of the stone wall behind her was enough to make Meg shiver.

"Oh good, you're awake".

The cowgirl didn't even bother turning towards the voice. She felt too tired and sore to even look up, not that she needed to. Meg knew that the speaker was the vile woman who held her captive, and as she heard approaching footsteps and felt a hand lift her chin, the red head's eyes fell upon the familiar features of Maria.

"So, how is my pretty little girl today?" asked the violet eyed woman, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards into a smirk.

Mustering up all the energy that she could, Meg's reply was to spit in her captor's face.

"I see your still as feisty as ever, even after all this time," remarked Maria, licking at the spittle that slid down her cheek with her tongue, "maybe we should take advantage of that?".

Meg shook her head no. For as long as she had been confined, Maria had taken every opportunity to touch the red head. Meg hated the feeling of being used for this woman's sick pleasure, and the touch of Maria's hands on her skin made her feel dirty.

"Hmm, now that I think about it, we don't have time today," continued Maria, looking thoughtful, "there's something that I want to show you, and I don't know how long it will take".

Producing a key, the white haired woman unlocked the red head's shackles, and Meg nearly slumped to the floor in relief. As Maria grasped the cowgirl by the arm and headed towards the cell door, she chuckled quietly to herself.

"Oh yes, I think you'll enjoy this _very _much".

* * *

The sound of a hundred screeching, tortured souls attacked Meg's ears as she and her captor emerged from the building's holding facilities.

"What the hell is that noise?" asked the cowgirl, the horrific sounds sending adrenaline through her system and supplying her with the energy to speak.

"Progress" stated Maria simply.

As the two made their way towards the source of the tormented cries, Meg became aware of the many crates, cages and items of machinery that lay scattered about the building floor.

"This isn't..." started Meg, head turning left and right to take in the many familiar sights.

"The warehouse in Osaka?," finished Maria, glancing over at her captive and smirking, "why yes, it is. I believe you've been here before, not so long ago, but right now that is irrelevant".

Meg asked no more questions as she and the violet eyed woman wound their way through the littered warehouse, and before long the two came to a very familiar and ominous looking curtained-off section at the back of the building. Pushing aside the cloth that acted as a makeshift doorway, Maria thrust the cowgirl into the small laboratory, following up behind her a second later.

Once inside, Meg had to clamp a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

The room, pristine and orderly the last time the red head had seen it, now resembled a slaughter house. Teams of men and women in gore-spattered surgical outfits darted between rows of metal tables. Both men and beasts were tied down to the operating surfaces, bound by chains attached to their wrists and ankles. The captives screamed, roared and howled in pain as the surgical teams hacked away at them with bloodied tools. Every now and then, some unfortunate man had the back of his head lopped off, and he would scream in agony as his brain splashed out onto the concrete floor. Then, just before he was completely claimed by death, a glowing replacement brain was stuffed into his skull cavity and held in place by a glass dome. It was at this point that the victims, for that was what Meg perceived them to be, were unchained from the operating tables and led away, their place quickly taken by another man and the process would start again.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Maria rhetorically, uncaring of the cruelty that was taking place before her eyes.

Meg whimpered and cast her eyes to the floor, unable to look at the carnage in front of her.

"It's amazing what those Tokyo RAPT fools will do when commanded to" continued the violet eyed woman, not noticing the emotional distress that her captive was suffering. At that statement, Meg whirled on the spot to face the other female, surprise evident upon her features.

"You mean those are RAPT officers?"

"That's right," answered Maria, finally turning towards Meg, "you see, this is a business deal. We supply RAPT with loyal, emotionless killing machines that they can use to control the unruly populace of Tokyo, and in return RAPT offers their services to our organization, which will prove very useful in the not-too-distant future".

"Organization?," questioned Meg, "you mean you _work_ for someone!?"

Maria cast her captive a skeptical look. "You honestly thought that I was working alone? You cannot comprehend the sheer magnitude of what we are trying to achieve here. This isn't some small time genetic experimentation facility, this is merely one link of many in a chain! Soon, powerful organizations around the globe will lend their support to us, just as RAPT has, and then using that support we will bring about a new world age. Before long our many plans will come to completion, and when that happens all world empires will answer to us!".

"So you're going to take over the world?" asked Meg, shocked.

"Yes," grinned Maria, eyes blazing insanely, "but before that happens, I have a little problem to take care of".

Yanking Meg by the arm after her, Maria exited the small laboratory and set off towards a far corner of the warehouse.

"Where are we going now?" asked the cowgirl.

Maria smiled wickedly to herself as she answered.

"To make a few phone calls".

* * *

Jo lay uncomfortably upon the living room sofa.

The past few days had been agony for the gunfighter, both physically and mentally. Her injuries were healing up well, but they were still keeping her confined inside. However, in Jo's mind, the fact that she could not do anything about the abduction of her long time friend was far worse than any of the wounds that she had sustained.

The gunfighter cursed herself mentally.

It shouldn't have happened. She should have been able to protect Meg, not let her get captured. She should have killed Takane when she had the chance, but like one of those morons from any of the horror films the she owned, she hesitated. And she paid for it.

"Hey, Jo!"

The frantic shouting of Amy snapped the crimson eyed female out of her angry reverie, and Jo turned her head to watch her youngest companion come racing through the living room doorway, laptop in hand.

"What?"

"I don't know how it happened, but someone managed to bypass my net security and connect to my computer," ranted Amy, dumping her laptop onto Jo's chest and causing the gunfighter to wince in pain, "they could have done it wirelessly, but that would have taken ages, so my guess is that they...".

"The point, please?" asked Jo, eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Oh, sorry," blushed the little girl, realizing that she was getting a bit carried away, "the point is that someone wants to talk to you, and they say that they know where Meg is!".

"Meg!?" shouted Jo, turning her attention away from Amy and onto the laptop screen.

The image staring back at her caused the silver haired woman to glare in anger.

"It's you," stated Jo, her voice no more than an angry growl, "what do you want _this_ time? A rematch?".

The cruel face of Maria smirked back at the gunfighter. "I see you haven't forgotten me, Jo. How have you been?"

"Cram it," retorted Jo, restraining herself from putting her fist through the laptop in anger, "Amy said you know where Meg is".

"Oh, I do," replied Maria, her smirk turning into a grin as she yanked someone into the screen's view, "she's right here with me".

"Meg!" shouted Jo, pressing her face up to the screen. Upon catching sight of the crimson eyed female, all of the built up tension and fear that had accumulated within Meg over the past few days came brimming to the surface, and the cowgirl broke down in tears.

"Oh god, Jo," she wailed, "please help me! I don't like it here. I'm scared and I wanna come home".

"You bitch," yelled the gunfighter, tearing her gaze away from her friend and focusing once again on Maria, "what the hell have you done to her".

"Nothing," answered the violet eyed woman, grasping Meg under the chin and running her tongue across the cowgirl's cheek, "at least, nothing she won't like in due time".

Jo's lip curled into a snarl as she watched the red head struggle in vain against Maria's grasp. "I swear, if you hurt her...".

"You'll what?," sneered Maria, pulling Meg closer and letting her hand wander under the hem of her captive's shirt, knowing that the action would further enrage her foe, "you'll kill me? Go ahead. In fact, I insist you try".

"Just tell me where you're keeping Meg" answered Jo coldly, gritting her teeth in anger.

"Do you remember the warehouse in Osaka?," asked Maria innocently, "the one that you and your friends decided to trespass in? Why don't you meet me there?".

"Fine, just make sure that you have your own grave dug by the time I arrive" replied the gunfighter harshly.

"You seem to think that this will be easy," remarked Maria, seemingly enjoying the conversation, "but it won't be any fun if you just come knocking at the front door. That's why I've gone to the trouble to set up a few...obstacles...for you".

"What kind of obstacles?" glowered Jo, digging her fingers into the sofa to try and quell her rage.

"Turn the television on," stated the violet eyed woman casually, "then you'll see".

Jo turned away from the computer and nodded at Amy meaningfully. The girl flashed a grin in understanding and switched on the living room television. Instantly, Jo was greeted by the sight of a well dressed female news reporter.

"Our top story tonight," rambled the newscaster, "the government has received word that the city of Osaka is under threat from an imminent terrorist threat. Officials have taken swift action, increasing RAPT security on all roads leading into Osaka, as well as maintaining a presence within the city itself. As a result, traffic on all major highways has been slowed to a standstill as all vehicles are being inspected for weapons and suspicious persons. While the terrorist group threatening Osaka is unknown, a photograph of a suspected group member has been released to the press. RAPT is asking anyone with a gun license who sees this person to use extreme force in stopping them".

As the newscaster wrapped up their story, a photograph of Jo appeared on the bottom of the screen.

"You did that?, " asked the gunfighter in confusion, turning her attention back towards the laptop, "how did you get RAPT on your side?"

"Oh, lets just say that they're providing a valuable service to medical science" smirked Maria.

And then the pieces all fit together.

The RAPT cybot at the warehouse district in Osaka. The report in the newspaper from a few weeks back. The lack of RAPT patrols in Shibuya when the attacks were taking place. And now this.

"You and RAPT are in league with each other!" exclaimed Jo, eyes going wide in surprise.

"About time you figured it out" retorted Maria.

"I don't care if RAPT is out to stop me," stated Jo, anger seeping once again into her voice, "I'll find you, and when I do, I'll tear you limb from limb".

"I look forward to it," replied Maria sarcastically, "I'll be waiting".

And then the screen went dead.

"I guess she disconnected" remarked Amy.

But Jo wasn't listening. She now knew where her friend was, and no force on earth would get in her way.

"Meg, I'm coming".

* * *

**A/N: **Whew, sorry for the late update everyone, but it's just been so damn hot here lately that I haven't had the energy to write. Seriously, we have had just about two weeks of forty degree weather (for you Americans, that's about one hundred degrees in your measurements). Anyway, I hope you all liked it. I'm especially proud of the way that I managed to tie all those random RAPT events up into one explanation (yay me!). Oh, and to clarify for those who haven't seen very far in the anime, the part where Jo is asking if Maria wants a rematch refers to the battle that they had somewhere around episode seventeen. As always, reviews are very much appreciated, and a big thank you goes out to all those people who reviewed my previous chapters. Thanks guys!

Until next time!


	13. Avenging Angel

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Burst Angel. If I said that I did, it would be a dirty, dirty lie. And lies make baby Jesus cry.

* * *

"God damn it Sei, get outta the way!"

The tall and commanding form of Sei stood unwavering in the cramped confines of the corridor, barring the path of a very mad Jo.

"I won't let you go," the woman stated simply, arms folded across her chest, "you're in no condition to fight".

Jo growled in frustration, bracing her aching frame against the metal wall of the corridor that led to the hanger of her mecha, Jango. The crimson eyed woman stood in full battle gear, her red bomber jacket draped across her shoulders and her Desert Eagles strapped to her hips.

"I don't care," spat the gunfighter, glaring up at the stern face of her employer, "Meg's in trouble, and I'm sick of all this stalling. I _will_ go and get her, and I don't _care_ what you have to say about it".

"I told you before," retorted Sei, standing up straighter and glowering down at her injured comrade, "you simply can't fight like this. If you go out after Meg, you'll be killed".

"And I told _you_," fumed the silver haired female, "I don't _care_!".

Sei didn't reply, instead letting silence fall between the two women. Moments ticked by, with neither friend willing to back down from their argument. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Sei broke the tension. She relaxed her stance, letting her arms fall to her sides.

"Jo," started the dark haired woman, the anger seeping from her face as she tried to reason with her long time companion, "you know you can't save Meg like this. Your wounds have not yet healed, and you can barely stand. If you were to attempt a rescue like this, you would be killed, and then Meg would have no one to save her".

The gunfighter cast her gaze towards the ground, the rage in her voice ebbing away. "I still have to try".

"Yes, you do, " continued Sei, moving towards her friend and placing a hand upon her shoulder, "but not right now. Meg is my friend too, and I hate it whenever she's in danger, but you have to be reasonable".

Jo didn't respond, not wanting to listen to the sense that the other woman was making. Without warning, she collapsed to her knees.

"Jo, are you ok?" asked Sei, startled. She knelt down and placed an arm around her friend, trying to get a glimpse of the gunfighter's expression.

And nearly gasped at what she saw.

Jo continued to stare at the ground, unaware or uncaring of her surroundings. Her face was slack, and her hair fell limply forward.

But it was her eyes that had Sei so unnerved.

Ever since she had known the gunfighter, Jo's eyes always held a spark, an undying flame that burned with life. When in the heat of battle, that flame would flare up, igniting into a righteous fury that struck terror into the hearts of her enemies. Now, her eyes were dead, staring unfocused at the floor. The spark that Sei was so used to was now gone, replaced by a cold bitterness that seemed to reflect the very torment of the woman's soul. As Sei continued to stare she watched as, almost unnoticed, a single tear slid slowly from the corner of Jo's eye and traced a sad path down her cheek.

"You just don't understand," said Jo, her voice a soft monotone, "Meg needs me, and I can't ignore that.

"I do understand, Jo," replied Sei reassuringly, a sad smile creeping across her face, "you love her, and it hurts that you can't be there to protect her. But you know that, if you try to rescue her in your state, you'll die. And if you die, it'll hurt her a lot more than you're hurting right now. Please, for her sake, listen to me".

For a long time, Jo didn't reply, continuing to stare at the ground in silence. Then, just as Sei was beginning to think that her friend hadn't heard her, the gunfighter responded.

"Sei...please forgive me".

The dark haired woman's expression turned into one of confusion. "Forgive you? Forgive you for...".

Sei didn't get to finish her question as the butt of a Desert Eagle came crashing into her chin, knocking her into unconsciousness.

Jo stood up, placing her gun back into it's holster, and glanced down at the prone form of her employer.

"Forgive me for that" stated the gunfighter simply before striding purposefully towards Jango's hanger.

* * *

Maria smiled to herself as she threw Meg back into her cell.

"Now that the board has been set, the pieces should soon begin moving" stated the violet eyed woman.

"You're a _monster_," cried Meg, latching onto the metal bars of her cell and squeezing them in anger, "first you begin butchering hundreds of innocent men for your stupid science project, and now you're trying to lure Jo into an unfair fight! Where's your sense of common decency!?".

Maria raised her eyebrows in surprise, slightly shocked by her captive's sudden outburst. Reaching through the cell bars, the white haired female cupped the cowgirl's face, stroking Meg's cheek with her thumb.

"Such _fire_," remarked Maria, running her tongue across her bottom lip, "and here I was thinking that my mate would be little more than a submissive mouse. I'll have fun with you".

Meg turned her head sharply and bit down hard on her captor's hand, drawing blood. Howling in pain, Maria slapped the red head across the face, sending her spinning to the ground.

"As for your question on decency," snarled Maria, cradling her injured hand, "I don't have any! Decency, compassion, pity, all of those emotions have no place in combat. I intend to kill my accursed sister by any means necessary, regardless of whether you consider them _decent_ or not".

Still fuming, the violet eyed woman strode away, making her way back towards the main floor of the warehouse. As she emerged from the cell area, Maria was intercepted by one of the white-coated scientists that had been working in the laboratory.

"Commander, we have concluded our experimentation. All test subjects have been detained and we await further instruction".

"Excellent," stated Maria, grinning cruelly, "tell anyone who values their life to evacuate the building within the hour, and then set the creatures loose. We may as well test their abilities before we hand them over to RAPT".

The scientist saluted, but his expression betrayed a hint of anxiety. "Um...commander?".

"What?" asked Maria, slightly irritated about being questioned by someone of such a lowly status.

The scientist began to fidget nervously, "Um...I was just wondering...why exactly are we letting the subjects loose? How are we supposed to control them if they're out of their cages".

The white haired woman narrowed her eyes in anger. "It isn't your place to question my orders now, is it?"

"N...no...ma'am" replied the scientist, taking a step backwards.

"What happens to those who question me?" asked Maria simply, taking a step forward.

"I...I don't know...ma'am" answered the scientist, who was now sweating profusely.

"Bad things tend to happen to them" answered Maria, raising her hand above her head and clicking her fingers. Almost instantly, a dark, furry shape dropped from the ceiling and landed heavily upon the scientist's shoulders. Under the sudden weight, the poor man's spine snapped in two, killing him in a heartbeat. Sitting atop the man's body, uncaring of the death that she had just caused, was Takane.

"Glad to see you haven't run off" remarked Maria, bending down to scratch the creature behind the ears. Takane growled appreciatively, letting her eyes close in blissful ecstasy. Since Takane had been with Maria for some time now, the violet eyed woman was confident in the knowledge that basic animal loyalty would keep the creature from running away. As such, Maria had allowed Takane to wander the building freely, and the ex-police woman had taken to spending her time crawling around the rafters of the warehouse, looking for mice and other such small rodents to feast upon.

"Soon, my pretty, you're going to have lots of little friends to play with," cooed Maria, continuing to stroke a purring Takane, "but you have to make sure that they don't run away, do you understand?".

Takane nodded her head slowly, still keeping her eyes closed.

"Good" stated the white haired woman, letting her hand fall to her side, much to Takane's disappointment. Seeing that she wasn't going to get any more attention, the creature slunk away in search of something to eat.

"Stupid animal," remarked the violet eyed woman, watching as Takane disappeared from sight, "if the other creatures are anything like you, then controlling them won't be a problem".

* * *

"Jo, are you _sure_ about this?" asked Amy over the video screen.

"For the last time, yes!" the gunfighter shot back, concentrating as she maneuvered Jango through the steady stream of traffic.

"Alright, alright, don't get snappy about it" pouted the little girl.

"How's Sei doing?" asked Jo, glancing momentarily at Amy's image on the screen.

"She's still asleep," answered Amy, "but she's gonna be awfully mad at you when she wakes up".

"Not that I care," replied the gunfighter before changing the subject, "is this the best you can do on the traffic situation?".

"It's rush hour, what did you expect?" retorted the brown haired girl, "I've set up road blocks along all the major entry points to the highway, but closing them all down would result in a traffic jam from one end of the city to the other!".

Jo growled under her breath. "Stupid civilization".

"Hey, you better be on your guard," stated Amy as small, red dots began to appear on several of Jango's monitors, "your approaching a RAPT check point. Things are gonna get heated up pretty fast".

"Yeah, yeah" replied Jo, eyes narrowing as the indicated check point came into view on Jango's primary optical monitor. As the traffic around the mech began to slow down, Jo began to find it hard to move. As she approached, the gunfighter could make out three RAPT standard issue cybots blocking the road, letting the traffic trickle past as each car was inspected by a team of officers. Suddenly, one of the cybots turned it'd unseeing gaze upon Jango, and the commanding voice of a man came crackling over the mech's internal speakers.

"Unidentified cybot, halt and de-activate any weaponry in preparation for RAPT check point inspection. Failure to do so will result in the use of extreme force".

Jo ignored the command, instead leaning forward into the throttle and increasing Jango's speed.

"Failing to obey a RAPT order has now put you in violation of your cybot license," came the male voice over the speakers, "your cybot will now be seized and taken away to be melted down into scrap metal. Failure to cooperate with this ruling will result in your immediate execution. Please halt now".

Again the gunfighter ignored the command, leaning further into the throttle to maximize Jango's acceleration. Weaving through the other cars, the gunfighter began to rapidly approach the check point. She watched on screen as all three RAPT cybots moved into weapon bracing positions and the barrels of their autocannons began to whirl.

Jo kept going, approaching the check point at breakneck speed. Closer and closer she went, watching as the opening bursts of fire from the RAPT cybot's weapons exploded towards her. Bullets whizzed past the giant form of Jango, and just as Jo came to within several feel of the check point, she pulled back on the throttle, sending her mech into the air in a perfectly executed jump. The other three cybots could only watch as Jango landed on the stretch of open road behind them, drawing it's two larger-than-life Desert Eagle's from it's holsters.

"I got your 'scrap metal' right here" stated Jo, her purple tattoo flaring up along her arm as she took aim and fired. Instantly, two bullets exploded into the mid-section of one of the opposing cybots, short circuiting it and sending the machine crashing uselessly to the ground. The remaining two cybots were quick to respond, advancing at a run while trying to maintain a decent weapons lock on Jango.

"You want me? Come and get me!" yelled Jo, her senses becoming overwhelmed by battle lust. Moving Jango into a crouch, Jo locked the mech's weapons onto the closest cybot and fired a shot. Her aim was true, and the cybot's cockpit exploded in a shower of flame and glass.

The last remaining cybot, moving around the wreckage of his fallen comrade, came barreling into Jango, sending the mech skidding along the ground on it's back. Jo grunted with the force of the blow and began to work the steering, allowing Jango to get to it's feet. As Jo leveled her mech's weapons, the opposing cybot again crashed into Jango, this time seizing it's arms. From inside the cockpit, the groaning sound of metal being crushed filled Jo's ears, and the monitors around her began to flash meaningless damage reports across their screens. Thinking fast, Jo made Jango throw it's arms out to it's sides, breaking the other cybot's grip. Holstering it's weapons, Jango lashed out with it's fist, punching a hole into the side of the opposing cybot and ripping out several cables. As the RAPT machine began to malfunction, Jango grasped the other cybot by the shoulders and pulled, wrenching it's arms from their joins.

"I'll teach you to keep me from Meg!" screamed Jo as Jango raised it's arms above it's head. In one mighty blow, Jango brought it's fists down, crashing them through the cybot's cockpit. The machine went down in a crumpled mess, sparks flying from exposed and severed cables. Jo smiled in satisfaction, and made Jango kick the destroyed cybot just for good measure. After she was satisfied that her opponent wouldn't stand up, the gunfighter turned her mech around and gazed across the empty road that led to Osaka.

"I'm coming, Meg. I'm coming".

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there we go. Another chapter up. As I was writing this, I figured that people were probably beginning to wonder where Takane got off to, so I put in a little cameo for her. This was also my first attempt at a mech fight scene, and I think I did pretty ok (I enjoyed writing it!). Oh, and to answer renny-chan's question, I don't think that the effects of the animal/human genetic tampering are reversible. I figure that genetically mutating someone is hard enough, but putting them back the way they were is even harder (so poor Takane is stuck the way she is). As always, please keep reviewing. New reviews are like crack to me, I just can't get enough! So please, keep on sending them.

Until next time!


	14. Rematch

**To Love An Angel**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Burst Angel. If anyone reading this _does_ own Burst Angel, I'll trade you for my peanut butter and jam sandwich.

* * *

It was nightfall by the time Jo arrived in Osaka.

Bringing Jango to a halt beside an old, rundown building, the gunfighter switched on the night vision scanning devices inside her mech's cockpit and looked around. Even though it had been some weeks since she, Meg and Takane had first been to this place, the warehouse district looked just as Jo remembered it. The only difference between this visit and the last, however, was the apparent absence of any form of life. Last time, the whole area had been teeming with vehicles and armed guards. Now, not a single person could be seen anywhere, and the arrival of a several story tall armed cybot didn't even raise so much as a shout of alarm. To the crimson eyed fighter, this told her that the place was either deserted...

...or someone had planned an ambush.

Warily, Jo rose from her seat and opened Jango's access hatch, peering out into the darkness. Satisfied that no one was going to start shooting at her, the silver haired female swung herself onto her mech's disembarking ladder and carefully made her descent. Planting her feet firmly upon the dusty ground, Jo loosened her Desert Eagles in their holsters and took one more quick scan of the area. If anyone had planned an attack, it would come now.

She waited...and nothing happened.

Jo ignored the growing feeling of uneasiness within her. If Maria knew that she was coming, where was the opposition? Surely those pathetic RAPT cybots she had disposed of on the highway weren't her only obstacles? Slowly, the gunfighter began to make her way through the empty complex, heading in the direction of the warehouse that she and her team members had broken in to. Every step of the way, Jo expected to hear a shot, expected to see someone step out from behind a rubbish bin or pile of scrap metal and level a gun at her. But it didn't happen, and because it didn't happen, the uneasy feeling within her kept growing. By the time the gunfighter had arrived at the entrance to the warehouse, her mind was already racing with doubt.

Was this a trick?

Was this some kind of joke?

Was Meg even alive?

Unsure about the whole situation, Jo drew her Desert Eagles in readiness and entered the building.

* * *

"She did _what_!"

Amy glanced nervously at the ground. "Well, Jango's gone, so she must have taken it! Don't be mad, it wasn't _my_ fault!".

Sei sat up from the couch, holding an ice pack to her sore chin. "I _told_ her to wait until her _injuries_ had healed! What was she _thinking_!?"

The brown haired girl took a small step back from her enraged employer. "Well, Jo was pretty angry when she got that phone call from the woman who's holding Meg hostage. I guess she just got so mad that she didn't think at all".

"What phone call?," asked Sei, whirling towards the little girl.

"W-well," stammered Amy, taking another step backwards, "Jo got a c-call from some lady who says she has Meg. I p-probably should have told you that".

"Did this 'lady' say where she was keeping Meg?" asked Sei angrily, rising from the couch to tower over her smaller friend.

Amy shrunk visibly. "At the w-warehouse that they w-went to on their l-last mission with Takane".

"I wish you had told me this before," glowered Sei, "if you had, then I probably would have understood the extent of Jo's desperation, and I probably wouldn't have woken up with a near dislocated jaw!".

The sight of a very angry Sei was enough to make the little girl crack. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her bottom lip began to tremble. "I'm sorry," wailed Amy, throwing herself at the older woman, "please don't be mad. I didn't know! Please, I'm sorry".

Instantly, all the anger in Sei seeped away upon seeing the distraught form of her youngest friend. Placing a hand upon the little girl's head, the older woman spoke to Amy softly.

"It's alright. We now know where Jo is, and we can go and get her. Just please, next time something important like that happens, tell me".

Wiping her eyes on the hem of her employer's coat, Amy looked up at Sei and gave a gentle smile. "Ok, I promise".

"Good," replied Sei, "now we had better get going. It's a long way to Osaka".

Letting go of her older friend, Amy allowed Sei to head towards the vehicle's cockpit, watching as she went. When the dark haired woman had disappeared, the little girl broke down in a fit of giggles.

"Man, that old crybaby skit never fails to get me out of trouble".

* * *

Moonlight filtered in through the dirty windows, illuminating the interior of the gloomy warehouse.

Cautiously, Jo wound her way through stacks of crates and boxes, listening intently for anything that sounded out of place. Besides the occasional scuffling of what she assumed were vermin, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be occurring.

"Meg, are you in here?" whispered the gunfighter into the darkness, hoping against hope for an answer. Her only reply was silence, and the constant scuffling sounds that, oddly enough, seemed to be getting louder. Just as Jo was about to call out again, a crate somewhere off to her right fell from a stack and clattered noisily to the ground. Startled, the silver haired female whirled in the direction of the noise, expecting to catch sight of an enemy.

But there was nothing there.

And the scuffling sounds were getting even louder.

"Who's there?," asked Jo, scanning the darkness for movement, "show yourself!".

Another crate, this time from the gunfighter's left, crashed to the ground.

"Stop messing around, I know someone's in here!" shouted Jo, pivoting on the spot to try and catch a glimpse of an assailant.

A low, rumbling growl answered her outburst.

Unnerved, the gunfighter backed up against one of the crate stacks, figuring that it was safest to have her back to a solid surface. Straining her ears, Jo listened hard, trying to pinpoint the source of the noises.

She didn't have to listen long as a pile of boxes some ten feet in front of her exploded in a shower of broken wood, rent asunder by a pair of clawed hands. Raising her Desert Eagles, Jo watched as a grey furred monstrosity came barreling from the wreckage towards her, snarling in barely suppressed rage. The crimson eyed fighter took only an instant to note soft, pulsing green glow emanating from the back of the creature's head before she fired, sending two bullets into her opponent's chest. The monster screeched in pain and dropped to it's knees, but Jo didn't have time to finish it off as two more of the creatures came into sight and started lumbering towards her.

As fast as she could, the silver haired female leveled her weapons at these new adversaries, pulling back on the triggers and sending hot lead towards them. One of the beasts dropped instantly, it's head exploding in a shower of blood and brain matter. The other, a large, black and orange striped individual, ignored it's fallen comrade and came crashing into the female mercenary. Jo grunted as she was sent sprawling to the ground, pain igniting through her body as her injuries protested against the rough treatment. Instantly, the creature leapt atop the gunfighter's prone form, opening it's fanged maw into a fierce roar of triumph. Blinded by rage and battle lust, Jo slammed the barrel of her weapon into the monster's mouth, her arm blazing as her purple tattoo flared into life.

"You just entered a whole new world," snarled the silver haired mercenary, her lips twisting into a wicked grin, "welcome to hell!".

The creature didn't know what hit it as Jo fired, it's brain exploding out of the back of it's head in a spray of green gore. Pushing the body of her dead opponent to one side, the enraged gunfighter stood up...

...and noticed that she was completely surrounded.

During her struggle, more of the creatures had been drawn to her location, having made their way from various sections of the warehouse towards the source of the fighting. Now, Jo was staring down at least thirty of the creatures, all of whom were staring back at her with mad, hungry eyes. The crimson eyed fighter cocked her weapons in readiness, waiting for the monsters to make the first move. Slowly, the pack began to slink towards her, closing in on their intended meal. But, before they could get too close, a sharp hissing sound halted the beasts.

From out of the shadows, her dark fur matted with blood and grime, emerged Takane.

At her arrival, the other creatures moved back, clearly recognizing the former police woman as some sort of pack leader. Takane continued to hiss at the other beasts, who slunk even further away from her. When she was satisfied that the others had moved back to an acceptable distance, Takane focused her attention on Jo.

"So, these things listen to you?" asked the gunfighter sarcastically, nodding her head in the direction of the other creatures. In response, Takane growled.

"I was kinda hoping I'd run into you again," smirked Jo, "I've been waiting for a rematch".

Takane growled again and moved a few steps closer.

"Why so shy?," jeered the mercenary, tightening her grip on the triggers of her weapons, "don't you wanna fight?"

Takane moved closer still.

"Come on, _animal_," taunted Jo, "if you want me, _come and get me_!".

That was it. In a burst of almost preternatural speed, Takane lunged towards the crimson eyed fighter. Jo dodged to her right, thankful that, this time, she was aware of her opponent's amazing abilities. She didn't have time to congratulate herself on her memory, however, as Takane quickly followed up her attack with a backhanded blow. Jo raised her arm and blocked, hissing in pain at the force of the hit. Without wasting time, former police woman turned and lashed out with her other hand, narrowly missing her adversary as Jo ducked under her outstretched arm. Roaring in frustration, Takane redirected her attack and thrust downwards, hoping to lance her claws through the soft flesh of the mercenary's neck.

This proved to be a major mistake.

Just before Takane's blow could connect, Jo took half a step back and stood, raising one of her weapons above her head.

"I'm sorry Takane," stated Jo, her eyes portraying a slight hint of sympathy, "you were a good friend".

With all the force she could muster, Jo brought the butt of her Desert Eagle crashing down onto the back of Takane's head. The glass dome that replaced the back of the creature's head proved little resistance, shattering on impact. Takane died instantly, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap, her brain reduced to pulp. Upon seeing the death of their leader, the other creatures fled into the darkness, unwilling to face that which had felled their champion. Jo holstered her weapons her weapons and gazed down at the defeated form of her past friend.

"I'm sorry".

"A shame," came a low voice from the gloom, "she was one of the better ones".

Surprised, the gunfighter whirled towards the voice.

There, casually leaning against a stack of boxes, was Maria.

And being held by the wrist in her iron grip, was Meg.

* * *

**A/N: **Dun dun dun!!! So, Jo and Maria finally come face to face. What will happen next in this epic battle royale? Truthfully, I don't know, but it'll be fun to find out! Sadly, this chapter involved the death of our favourite little kitty-cat, Takane. I had to do it, she couldn't live her life as an abomination. R.I.P Takane, we'll miss you (sniff). Other than that, sorry for the late update, but university has started up again, and I have a lot of work to do. But never fear, I promise you that this fic will not go unfinished. As always, keep the reviews coming. Seriously, I do appreciate them, and they really do help me to get chapters finished quicker.

Until next time!


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